DALÍ, Salvador.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Biblia Sacra vulgatae editionis. First edition, signed by the publisher, number XXXV from the deluxe magni luxus edition of 199, numbered I to CXCIX. Biblia Sacra is the largest and most ambitious of Dali's picture cycles. The series was commissioned by his close friend, Guiseppe Albareto. A devout Roman Catholic, Albareto hoped that the project, and the close reading of the Bible it necessitated, might strengthen Dali's own faith. Dalí took a tremendous amount of care with the project, personally inspecting and ensuring the quality of the reproductions of the 105 paintings. Albert Field noted that, when the original paintings were displayed alongside the prints, "the prints are so like the originals that the only sure way to distinguish one from the other was that the paint on the originals made the surface uneven" (p. 201). An extraordinary feat of printmaking presented in suitably beautiful fine bindings, this is Dalí at his best.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.