Salvador Dalí - Divine Comedy - Hell 20 - hand signed vintage woodcut - c1964

This is a beautiful hand signed original vintage woodcut from the Italian edition of Dalí's 'Divine Comedy' suite. The signature is in red ink/crayon and is guaranteed to be authentic, coming complete with a 28 page authentication document from certified appraisers Periti d' Arte Associati (www.peritiarte.it), a highly respected Italian arts association (see below for details and images). The piece comes from the Hell suite (chant 20) - the Divine comedy comprised three suites - paradise, purgatory and hell. The Italian edition was produced in 1964 on cream BFK Rives stock, with deckled bottom edge. The outside back carries the title in Italian and chant number. Please scroll down for further images and information.

PROVENANCE
Private collection of Stephen Baring. Collection includes two inherited collections and twenty five years of personal collecting. The collection numbers well over 1,000 works of art and a number will be sold over the coming weeks to fund a project. This particular piece was purchased last year, along with others in the series, from an elderly Italian collector who had personally known Salvador Dalí and was a close friend of Dr. Giuseppe Albaretto, Dalí's Italian friend and patron.

The piece comes complete with a authentication document by certified appraisers Periti d' Arte Associati, a highly respected Italian arts association (www.peritiarte.it). Periti d' Arte Associati has been established for twenty years and are contracted by the Italian authorities to authenticate stolen art. The 28 page document is in Italian but can be translated. It is signed by Stefano Liberati, the president of the association, and Dario Marletto, the secretary. The document is for the entire set, of which this piece is one. Below we have included images of three of the document pages.

According to Dalí expert Albert Field, 3188 sets were produced for the Italian edition. It is not known exactly how many of these sets were hand signed by Dalí, but it is known that the number was low. None of editions of the Divine Comedy were first released with hand signatures by Salvador Dalí. The editor, Mr. Jean Estrade of Les Heures Claires, over a period of years, had Dalí sign complete sets. These sets were sold by Les Heures Claires to prominent art dealers and private collectors. In addition, Dalí was commissioned to sign suites of the Divine Comedy purchased from Les Heures Claires for several prominent collectors including Marc Ways. Dalí also signed sets that had been acquired by Dr. Giuseppe Albaretto, friend and patron of Salvador Dalí. In addition, sets were signed for three different galleries - Orangerie Galerie of Cologne, Germany; Lublin Fine Arts of Greenwich, Connecticut; and Transworld Art of New York.

While Dalí's forays into prolific printmaking in the 1970s and 80s were often embedded in controversy, this series of graphic works was strictly controlled. Working in conjunction with Salvador Dalí, Mr. Raymond Jacquet, with his assistant Mr. Tarrico, created the blocks necessary for the engraving process. While frequently referred to as 'wood' blocks, they were actually a resin-based matrix. Salvador Dalí directly supervised the production of the works and gave final approval for each of the finished engravings.

Once the project was complete, all of the Divine Comedy blocks were destroyed. The engraving process required the block be cut, a single colour applied, then printed to the substrate (e.g. paper, silk, etc.) The block was then cleaned and cut away for the next colour. As the engravings were made, the image was progressively 'printed', and the block was progressively destroyed. The process required great skill and resulted in works of spectacular beauty which cannot be reproduced in a manner that is not detectable as a reproduction, even to the casual observer.

OUR PRICE
Our price is extremely reasonable for a hand signed woodcut from this series. Hand signed examples usually sell for many thousands of pounds, and even unsigned examples are often priced at close to £2,000 online. Simply, we have priced to sell, as opposed to spending longer chasing the optimum price.

A limited woodcut signed by the artist is the next best thing to owning an original painting. The value of art has continued to rise during the western recession. It goes without saying that this work will provide an outstanding appreciating investment as well as an impressive statement for your home or office.

HISTORY
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri remains today one of the pillars upon which the European literary tradition has been built. Originally titled simply Commedia, Dante's masterpiece was written at the end of his life and finished just before his death in 1321. Presented in the edition published by Les Heures Claires is Salvador Dalí's interpretation of the wonderful and intense imagery that Dante formed through spinning a web of words both exciting and exhilarating.

To celebrate the 700th anniversary of Dante's birth, the government of Italy planned to issue a special edition of The Divine Comedy. For this issue, Dalí created 101 watercolours between 1951 and 1960. In 1954, La Libreria della Stato published a brochure with seven of the paintings reproduced full size as lithographs, together with sample pages of the text. Due to the opposition these prints created, the Italian government dropped the project and postage stamps were issued instead. Several years later, Joseph Foret, in Paris, who had previously published other Dalí suites such as Don Quichotte, started production of the prints by wood engraving. Master engravers worked from 1959-1963 to carve 3500 separate wood blocks for the 100 prints. The Divine Comedy project was then taken over and completed by Jean Estrade of Les Heures Claires.

WOODCUTS
Firstly, a woodcut is not an ordinary print. Historically, woodcut is the most important of the relief printing processes. The design is drawn directly onto the surface of the wood block which is cut parallel to the wood grain ('plank' as opposed to 'end grain'). The parts which are to print white are cut away, leaving the black lines in relief. The tool usually used is a Knife, the block is then printed on a relief press. Printing from woodblocks was known in China from around 800 A.D. in Europe as early as the twelfth century, but originally only for stamping designs on textiles. the earliest surviving prints on paper cannot be dated before the last years of the fourteenth century (1370 found in Eastern France). Since woodblocks can be printed together with type, this was for many years the favoured method of book illustration. Wood engravings were first developed in the eighteenth century. A very hard wood such as boxwood is used, which is always cut across the grain. the tool used is a version of a burin or graver, the handle of which is held against the palm and the blade pushed before the hand, making a clean incision into the wood. Wood engravings are printed in relief in the same way as woodcuts. The wood engraver is able to produce much more detailed work than the woodcutter and characteristically achieves an effect of closely worked lines that print white against black. Thomas Bewick of Newcastle (1753 - 1828) was the first great exponent of wood engraving, which was much used in the nineteenth century for book illustration. Wood engraving can be used for colour work. Separate blocks are generally cut for each colour area. In the instance of Salvador Dalí's early woodcut engravings, 'The Divine Comedy' (1952-1964), up to thirty five woodblocks were used in the printing. many of these progressive proof impressions taken from the blocks survive giving a vivid visual history of the build up of the final image from multiple blocks.

FRAMING
The piece comes unframed and we can have it professionally framed for you. We do not charge for this service and receive lower framing prices than usual because of our existing relationship with framing companies. You can choose between black, dark brown and light brown grained wood. Framing also comes complete with a quality mount. Framing price averages around £50. Please message us for a quote on framing this piece of art.

A genuine original signed woodcut by a famous listed artist that will be much admired in your home or office. Will provide an excellent financial investment as well as a possession to enjoy. You are welcome to return for a full refund if you are not entirely happy. Also, please feel free to view at our central London showroom.