FR EN
1 / 3
an image of a watercolor painting of a woman sitting on a horsean image of a painting of a woman in a hammocka red and brown book with a flower on the cover
Premium Jeschke Jádi Auctions Berlin

Estimate €3,500 - €5,000
Sale commission
Description
Surrealism Dalí, Salvador L'Art d'aimer (Ovid, Ars amatoria). With 15 original colour prints, including 1 lithograph, 1 etching and 13 colour woodcuts, as well as an additional suite of 4 signed colour woodcuts, all on Arches paper. Paris, Centre culturel de Paris, 1979. Large folio. Half-maroquin binding and slipcase. Field No. 79-2. – Michler & Löpsinger, 1525–1538. – Signed and numbered by Dalí in his own hand in the colophon. - Magnificent, particularly lyrical book illustrations by Dalí for Ovid’s famous *Ars amatoria*, written around the turn of the era, the ancient didactic poem on desire, seduction, courtship, encounters and the ever-changing art of love. The Latin text presents itself as a tongue-in-cheek ‘guide’ divided into three books: the first two books are addressed to men and deal with winning and keeping a lover, whilst the third book offers women advice on initiating and shaping erotic relationships. Dalí does not illustrate Ovid’s playful and ironic treatise on love in the strict sense, but rather translates it into a free, colour-rich visual language. At the centre are female figures and fragments of the body, reclining or floating forms, faces, flowers, butterflies, birds and fantastical, metamorphic symbols. The motifs unfold in luminous, softly blending colours, combining tenderness, eroticism, coquetry and a dreamlike quality. It is precisely the combination of a loose, almost watercolour-like treatment, transparent areas of colour and isolated, precisely placed contours that lends the series an unusually cheerful and poetic character, in contrast to Dalí’s well-known, sharply contoured surrealist style. Contemporaries therefore describe the series as a colourful interpretation of Ovid’s themes of love, seduction and intrigue. At the same time, the series is underpinned by the idea of metamorphosis, which was central to Dalí’s work: bodies, plant forms, animals and ornamental lines merge into one another, thereby bringing Ovid’s ancient world to life within a modern surrealist iconography. The book thus combines classical literature, French luxury bibliophilia and original prints by the late Dalí to create a truly prestigious artist’s book. Surrealism. – Featuring 15 original colour prints, comprising 1 lithograph, 1 etching and 13 colour woodcuts, together with an additional suite of 4 signed colour woodcuts, all on Arches paper. Signed and numbered by Dalí in the colophon. A splendid and particularly lyrical book illustration by Dalí for Ovid’s celebrated *Ars amatoria*, the ancient didactic poem, composed around the turn of the era, on desire, seduction, courtship, amorous encounters and the ever-changing art of love. Divided into three books, the Latin text presents itself as a witty and tongue-in-cheek ‘guide’: the first two books are addressed to men and deal with winning and retaining a mistress, whilst the third offers women advice on initiating and conducting erotic relationships. Rather than illustrating Ovid’s playful and ironic doctrine of love in a strictly narrative manner, Dalí translates it into a free and sensuous visual language. Female figures and fragments of bodies, reclining or floating forms, faces, flowers, butterflies, birds and fantastical metamorphic symbols take centre stage. The motifs unfold in luminous, softly modulated colour, combining tenderness, eroticism, coquetry and dreamlike suggestion. Above all, the combination of an unrestrained, almost watercolour-like style, transparent areas of colour and occasional precisely placed contours lends the series an unusually cheerful and poetic character, distinct from Dalí’s more familiar, sharply delineated Surrealist style. The series has accordingly been described as a colouristic interpretation of Ovid’s themes of love, seduction and intrigue. The sequence is also informed by the idea of metamorphosis, central to Dalí’s work: bodies, plant forms, animals and ornamental lines merge into one another, thereby recasting Ovid’s ancient world in a modern Surrealist iconography. The book thus combines classical literature, French luxury book production and the original printmaking of Dalí’s late period in a highly representative artist’s book. This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium is payable on the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) is payable on the final invoice amount within the European Union. This work is subject to the standard margin scheme. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (books and art) or 19% VAT (manuscripts, screen prints, offset prints and photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.
See original version (German)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like