Salvador Dalí

SALVADOR DALÍ (Figueres, Girona, 1904–1989), for Daum.
“Le désir hyperrationnel,” 1984.
Lost-wax cast glass paste and gilded bronze.
Daum edition, France, of 300 copies.
Signed “Dalí” and stamped with “Daum France” in relief.
With an identification plaque: “Salvador Dalí. Le désir hyperrationnel. Daum éditeur France”.
Measurements: 40 x 26 x 12 cm.

Sculpture-object conceived by Salvador Dalí and produced by Daum in 1984, as part of his celebrated collaborations with the French manufacturer. The work draws on one of the most recurring classical references in Dalí’s imagination: the Venus de Milo, a figure the artist transformed into a Surrealist emblem beginning with his well-known “Venus de Milo with Drawers.” In “Le désir hyperrationnel,” the fragmented female body reappears as an ideal ruin, a symbol of desire and a memory of antiquity, subject to a deeply symbolic interpretation.

The composition juxtaposes the torso—evoking Venus—crafted from glass paste, with a gilded head set atop a cubic structure. This dialogue between the absent body, thought, and precious material creates an enigmatic image, where classical beauty shifts into the realm of dreams, theatricality, and Dalí’s obsession with desire.

The glass paste, crafted using the lost-wax technique in shades of blue, green, and violet, lends the figure an unreal, translucent, and ever-changing quality. Set against this glass-like material with an almost aquatic appearance, the gilded bronze introduces a sumptuous and ceremonial accent. The embossed “Dalí” signature and “Daum France” mark confirm the edition, documented as 300 copies.

Salvador Dalí was one of the central figures of international Surrealism. His work, characterized by technical precision, dreamlike imagery, and a constant reinterpretation of classical tradition, is housed in institutions such as the Dalí Theater-Museum in Figueres, the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, MoMA in New York, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.