Salvador Dalí (1894–1989), Theseus and the Minotaur from the "Mythology" series, 1963–1965

Title: " Theseus and the Minotaur" from the Mythology series, 1963
Edition: XVI/XX on Japanese paper
Technique: etching, drypoint
Dimensions: 76x56 cm (sheet)
Hand-signed and numbered:XVI/XX, lower right, Dali 

References: Michler & Löpsinger Catalogue Raisonné 112, Field 63-3L

The work comes with an original certificate of authenticity issued by Serge Goldenberg, an expert and author of the Catalogue Raisonné of Salvador Dalí’s prints.

The print is from the Mythology series, 1963–1965. The Pierre Argillet Collection.

This was the first major collaboration between Pierre and Geneviève Argillet and Salvador Dalí. The artist spent four years engraving the 16 copper plates that make up this series. He personally attended to every detail, no matter how small, during its creation. To achieve the desired final effect, he experimented with various highly unconventional tools, such as nails, scissors, and all kinds of skewers; and even (to recreate tentacles on a copper plate) he immersed a real octopus in acid. Dali began work on each of the prints for “Mythology” with an abstract streak described as a “significant manifestation of chance,” and it was only from that point—a sign of fate—that he initiated further work and developed the theme.

The collection consists of 16 prints created using mixed media, including engraving and drypoint with hand-coloring, which offer a surrealist reinterpretation of classical myths.

Publisher: Pierre Argillet, Paris.