In 2004, and to celebrate the Centennial of Salvador Dalí's birth, the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation wished to pay homage to the painter by publishing the first part of the Catalogue Raisonné. This first period embraces the years from 1910 to 1930. Now, we present the second part of the Catalogue Raisonné containing the study of the paintings produced until 1939. The following years we will study the complete paintings of Salvador Dalí: a third stage will cover until 1951; a fourth one until 1964 and the last period will include artworks until 1983.

The purpose is not to publish a catalogue of aesthetic appraisal of the painter's work, but a catalogue of attribution in which an attempt has been made to state definitively the works which form part of Dalí's pictorial production.

For the work of attribution, we have examined the works known to us. We have compared the visual examination with the photographic documentation and also with the information available. This content has been given to us by the current owners of the work, whether private individuals or institutions. This information has been checked, wherever possible, against a second source of information, obtained from:

  • books from the library of the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation (the artist's private library and the Foundation's own library);
  • exhibition catalogues;
  • the newspaper archive of the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation which contain valuable period press cuttings. For the first part of the Catalogue Raisonné the so called "father's album" (a collection of press cuttings covering the period 1918-1929, made by the painter's father and with interesting supplementary annotations) was used.
  • auction catalogues;
  • the archives of the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. The painstaking work of the founders has allowed us to reconstruct the history of many of his artworks;
  • the archives of the Julien Levy Gallery in New York, NY. We have obtained paramount information about the works exhibited in this gallery thanks to the documentation kept by this archive and professionalism of her curator.
  • handwritten texts by Dalí himself: his diary collected in S. Dalí, Un diari, 1919-1920: les meves impressions i records íntims, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí ; Edicions 62, Figueres, Barcelona, 1994, and the collection of the Abelló Museum, Salvador Dalí, lletres i ninots : fons Dalí del Museu Abelló, Museu Abelló, Fundació Municipal d'Art, Mollet del Vallès, 2001.

Where we have been unable to examine a particular work directly, the study has been done through photographs. Where there has been ever any doubt, we have chosen not to include in the catalogue those works to which we have not had direct access. This does not mean that they cannot be attributed to Dalí, but that the level of information available has not allowed us to state with certainty that they are the artist's work.

Under the direction of Montse Aguer, Director of the Center for Dalinians Studies (CED: Centre d'Estudis Dalinians) and the advise of Antoni Pitxot, director of the Teatre-Museu Dalí, the Catalogue Raisonné has been carried out by the technical teams of the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation. In the first stage of the project, until 1929, the staff involved was: Carme Ruiz, CED, and Rosa Aguer, Registrar. This team was advised by Georgina Berini, Foundation Conservator-Restorer of the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, and Fèlix Fanés, UAB Professor of Art History and CED adviser. In the second part, paintings until 1939, the staff involved was: Carme Ruiz (coordinator), Rosa Maria Maurell, Mireia Roura and Anna Otero, CED, and Irene Civil, Head of the Conservation Department.

The works are presented in chronological order. Whenever possible a colour reproduction is provided. Each work is accompanied by a short informative text which includes title, date, technique, support, dimensions, signature, annotations, collection, provenance, comments (if necessary), exhibitions and bibliography.

Titles

It is common for a work to be known by different titles.

The criterion used to give a title to each painting of this catalogue has been to accord priority to the title given when the painting was first exhibited. This title appears in italics and has been translated to English if necessary. Later titles are listed afterwards and are published in bold characters.

When the title given during a first exhibit is unknown, we have accord priority to the most known title which is published in bold characters.

Date

Dalí did not always date his paintings. When a work is not dated, we suggest a possible year. If we have reliable information, then we simply state the date without further ado. When we are not certain of our own proposal, the year is preceded by the abbreviation "c." (circa).

Technique

This is a catalogue of paintings, and as such contains primarily oil paintings. There are some tempera paintings and others of diverse pictorial techniques, ranging from collages of various materials to the use of varnish as medium. With regards to the technique, when a painting has not been examined directly, we show the information provided by museums or private owners.

Support

Dalí painted on various kinds of supports until 1930: cardboard, wood, but particularly on different types of canvases, of which we shall emphasize: burlap or pieces of sack cloth, very coarse and with a very open mesh, upon which he painted directly, with no preparatory undercoat or primer, as stated above. During the 1930´s, Dalí mostly paints on small wood panels and canvases industrially prepared. As stated before, when the work has not been examined directly we provide the information given by the Museums or private owners.

Dimensions

We give the measurements in centimetres and inches. Height precedes width. Whenever possible, we have taken the measurements ourselves. As with the previous points, when unable to examine a painting in situ we accepted the information provided by the institutions or private owners.

Signature and inscriptions

We describe the signature and its location in the painting. We also point out when the painting is unsigned. If signed at a later date by the artist himself, this is stated in a note.

Location

In this section the present owner of the work is mentioned. Private collectors usually prefer to remain anonymous, and in such cases are referred as "private collection".

Provenance

This section shows the names of the previous owners of the painting in chronological order. This information is highly useful when it comes to the attribution of a painting. Although we offer all the information we have managed to gather, it is unlikely to be an unbroken history in this respect. Often, we had to rely on the information provided by the owners (either public institutions or private owners).

Comments

This section helps to clarify other information provided about the painting.

Exhibitions

The most important exhibitions at which the work has been shown are indicated and listed in chronological order. When available, the catalogue number given to the painting in the exhibition's catalogue is also listed.

Bibliography

We list the most important books in which an image of the work is reproduced, specifying the page number where it appears.

As with any Catalogue Raisonné, this is a work in progress. Thanks to the open nature of the system chosen to present it (online), provisional data will be altered in the light of new information obtained. The basic information for this catalogue was obtained from the extensive archival sources of the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, and supplemented by the major archives of the Salvador Dalí Museum of St. Petersburg, which has placed its collection entirely at our disposal. The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen of Rotterdam and the auction house Sotheby's have helped us with the private collection research process. For the resolution of certain technical data we have received technical assistance from the Conservation and Restoration Departments of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid and the Fine Arts Faculty of the University of Barcelona.