Salvador Dalí

SALVADOR DALÍ (Figueres, Girona, 1904–1989).
“The Dawn,” from the series “Don Quixote of La Mancha,” 1957.
Color lithograph on paper. Copy 36/300.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
With “Gala Dalí” stamp on the plate.
Reference bibliography: Albert Field, *The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dalí*, ref. 57-2, pp. 124–125.
Shows water stains on the margins.
Measurements: 68 x 51 cm.

In this print, Dalí transforms the world of Don Quixote into a vision of great visual intensity. A monumental spiral form—halfway between a shield, a wheel, and a seashell—dominates the composition, crowned by a female figure personifying the dawn. In the lower section, red bursts forth like a solar flare, while blue splashes, drips, and nervous strokes dissolve the scene between figuration and chance.

The work belongs to the series commissioned by publisher Joseph Foret to illustrate Cervantes’ novel. Dalí approached lithography experimentally at that time, spraying and splattering ink onto the plates—a technique evident in the expansive splotches that structure the image. In this way, the dawn, the chivalric adventure, and the artist’s visionary imagination merge into a dynamic and theatrical composition.

As the foremost representative of Surrealism, Salvador Dalí produced a body of work that spanned painting, sculpture, film, set design, and graphic art. His legacy is preserved primarily at the Dalí Theater-Museum in Figueres and is represented in institutions such as MoMA in New York and the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid.