Doyle New York
Lot 286
DANTE ALIGHIERI and SALVADOR DALI, illustratorLa Divine Comédie. L'Enfer. Le Purgatoire. Le Paradis. Paris: Editions d'Art les Heures Claires, [1959-1963]. From the edition of 5,000 copies issued on vélin pur Chiffon de Rives, this is copy 772, one of 350 copies (numbered 516-865) with a decomposition suite of one of the illustrations in each volume. Six volumes in wrappers, all retaining the publisher's slipcases and chemises. 13 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches (33 x 27 cm); 194 pp., 17 plates; 184 pp., 17 plates; 184 pp., 16 plates; 206 pp., 17 plates; 190 pp., 16 plates; 194 pp., 17 plates, with plate lists in each volume (i.e. with the 100 fine color wood-engraved plates after aquarelles by Dali, plus the decomposition suites, as issued). Light wear to the extremities of the slipcase, a few very minor stains, but overall a handsome copy, internally fresh.Dali's greatest project in book illustration, this edition of Dante was commissioned in 1957 by the Italian government to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the author's birth. The choice of a Spanish artist as the illustrator proved very unpopular, creating a contretemps for the government, which then withdrew the invitation. Dali, however, persevered, and over nine years completed the cycle of watercolor illustrations, which were then published as wood engravings by Jean Estrade of Les Heures Claires. Some of the wood engravings here demanded as many as forty or fifty blocks, a complex and demanding process admirably illustrated by the decomposition suites present in this copy.No condition report? Click below to request one. *Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.Request a condition report