Salvador Dalì, Les Pecheurs, Lithograph on Japanese Paper, 75x55 cm

A unique creation by Salvador Dalí.This artwork is reminiscent of Dalí’s childhood memories of when his father took him to their house in Catalonia and showed him an artwork of a fishing scene. It was an image typical of academic art (l’art pompier) usually done by the Swedes. That particular painting was realized by a Swedish artist and was part of the Pompier art movement as it showed a tuna fishing scene. Furthermore, the dominating body in the print was inspired by the muscular and rugged bodies of the fishermen similar to the ones depicted in “The Raft of Medusa” by Gericault. Despite taking inspiration from classical work, Dalí’s art does not hinder the modernity of the composition, which is actually fluid. The pictorial space is flattened and features defined contours with vibrant splashes of colour. The holistic image generates a perfect surrealist atmosphere, where the figurative subject is being engulfed by a powerful vortex of colours in a typical style of Dalí during his later works. The work is signed on the lower right and signed “PA” (Proof of Artist) in the lower left corner.