User manual

Presentation of the sculptural work

This includes the main data that allow the work to be identified by its catalogue raisonné number, its title and its classification in the body of Dalí's original work. The accompanying digital image of the work can be explored at high resolution.

Cat. no. OE

Each of the works in the Catalogue Raisonné of Sculpture and Three-dimensional Work by Salvador Dalí has its own permanent catalogue number, preceded by the abbreviation ‘Cat. no. OE’.

Title

The original title of a sculptural work is the one first given to it by Dalí himself. In most cases the sources that have been used to determine the titles are contemporaneous exhibition catalogues, so that the original title is the one that appears on the occasion of the first exhibition of the work. In addition, titles encountered in Dalí's own writings, both manuscript and published, have also been taken into account.

The original title of the work, where known, is always given first, in italics and bold, followed by its translation into the language of the chosen version of the website, in roman and bold. Any other known titles in use during Dalí's lifetime are also given, in roman, translated directly into the selected language. In most cases these titles were given by the artist, though they may also be known from other documentary sources, always in Dalí's lifetime.

Where the title originally given to the work by Dalí is not known but other titles used in his lifetime have been identified, these will be given in roman and bold, translated directly into the selected language.

Where neither the original title nor any other title used in Dalí's lifetime is not known, it has been decided to designate the work as 'Untitled', followed by a brief description in roman and bold.

Where the original title includes some typographical error or incorrect spelling, they have been amended and explained in the observations section, where the original title is given as it appears in the documentary source.

Where the title of the work includes a place name, this has been updated in accordance with the official Nomenclàtor oficial de toponímia de Catalunya.

Type of original work

In this field the classification of the sculptural work is established according to the Artistic criteria of the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí in relation to sculpture and three-dimensional work. Double-clicking on the link Original sculpture takes you directly to a section which gives a concise summary of the characteristics that distinguish each type of original work by Dalí.

When a unique original work with versions or an installation is identified in this field, a horizontal strip is displayed at the top of the screen, giving the relationship and hierarchy of these complex units. Both of these types of sculptural works are related, through the process of their creation, to other by works Dalí included in this catalogue raisonné.

In the case of a unique original work with different versions, there is a sequential line with the thumbnail image of the original work on the left and also the thumbnail images and dates of each of the versions on the right, in chronological order of creation. This format provides a high degree of navigability: double-clicking on any thumbnail gives access to the data sheet for each version of the original work. This tab maintains the same format at the top, allowing the visitor to go back to the unique original work with versions or to explore the other versions. If for any reason the visitor accesses a unique original version directly through the search, they will also find this presentation format and be able to access both the unique original work with which the version is related and the other versions in the same way.

In the case of an installation that contains sculptural work by Dalí published in this catalogue raisonné, here again a horizontal strip with a mode of navigation and operation similar to that described above is displayed. In this case, the thumbnail image of the installation appears on the left and the thumbnails of the works the installation contains on the right. Double-clicking on any of these images gives direct access to the data sheet for the work. This data sheet maintains the same format, which allows you to navigate and explore the different sculptural works that are part of the installation and return to the general data sheet for the installation. If the visitor directly accesses a work that is part of an installation, they will find a tab in the upper right of the screen giving access to the data sheet for the installation and the other works that are part of it.

Image

On the left side of the data sheet there is an image of the sculptural work, which can be enlarged by using the zoom icon in the lower right corner.

In some cases, the current state of conservation of the work may for various reasons differ from the first state at the time it was created, and the description of the work gives the particular reason or reasons for any difference. In these cases, in order to provide the maximum information on the process of creation and the conservation of the work, the entry includes images of both the first state and the present state.

In some cases the current location of a work is unknown. These are sculptural works that can be attributed to Dalí, but which at present can only be identified by means of archival photographs. Most of these photographs come from the archive of the Centre for Dalinian Studies and almost all of them are black-and-white images.

Copyright

The caption under the photographic image provides information on the copyright of the sculptural work and the reproduction rights of the image. For additional information, you should contact the Department of Rights of the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí: gerencia@fundaciodali.org.

Description of the sculptural work

This section presents the basic data on the work: authorship, date, technical description, signature, inscriptions and current location. In addition, each work is accompanied by a descriptive text giving important information to enable the visitor to engage with the work and appreciate key details.

Author

As the Catalogue Raisonné of Sculpture and Three-dimensional Work by Salvador Dalí includes only original works created by Dalí, making it unnecessary for the author of every work to be named in its data file. Entries are only made in the 'Author' field for works known to have been conceived and created jointly by Dalí in collaboration with another artist. On these occasions the names of both authors are given, separated by a dash.

Date

The dating of the work corresponds to the date of its creation, which is established in a number of ways. First, by determining whether Dalí directly inscribed the date on the work itself or recorded it in a related document such as a contract or other document associated with the process of its creation. Secondly, by consulting the exhibition catalogues corresponding to the first occasion on which the work was exhibited.

In those cases where the date is inscribed directly on the work itself, this fact is noted, together with the location of this inscription.

In some cases a precise date cannot be established due to a lack of accurate information, and in such cases the earliest and latest year may be given or a likely year indicated, preceded by the abbreviation ca. (circa). The button on the right gives access the index of works and to all the works from the same year.

Technique

This field identifies the technique with which the sculptural work was created. This catalogue raisonné includes different types of three-dimensional works, sculptures, objects and installations, executed in a wide range of techniques, precise detailed descriptions of which are given here. The information on materials and techniques takes into account the documentation consulted from a variety of sources and the data provided by the owners of the works.

Dimensions

The dimensions of the work are given in centimetres and correspond, in the following order, to height, width and depth. In some cases the diameter is also given.

Signature

In the case of signed works, a transcript of the signature is given in italics and its location is specified.

Inscriptions

In addition to the signature, a sculptural work may have other kinds of inscription, related, among other things, to the production process. In these cases, each inscription is given in italics and its location is specified.

Location

This field gives the name of the institution, museum or collection to which the work currently belongs. In some cases, in order to respect the anonymity of the current owner, the present location is given only as 'private collection'. The collections index can be accessed from the button on the right.

If the present location of the work is not known, this fact is registered as 'location unknown'. If the case of a work with an ephemeral existence, it is listed as an ephemeral work.

Description

In view of the variety and complexity of the sculptural work, the catalogue raisonné gives a brief description of each piece, noting aspects related to the creation, the iconography or the context of the work. In some cases this field also cites the artist's own comments on, descriptions of or references to the piece, in order to provide complementary information that may contribute to a fuller appreciation of Dalí's sculptural work.

Documentation of the sculptural work

This last section provides detailed information on all the documentation relating to the work. This may include observations concerning the provenance of the work and other considerations related to its study and to the bibliography and exhibition history, as well as the sculptural works related to the work in question and to certain related contents. All of the information in this section has been checked and corroborated by the Centre for Dalinian Studies.

Provenance

This is a chronological list of the owners to whom the sculptural work has belonged, from the earliest to the most recent, and is of fundamental importance for demonstrating Dalí's authorship of the work. In light of this, every effort is made to establish an unbroken chronological sequence, although in some cases it can be difficult to obtain certain information. This field also respects the privacy of those owners who wish to remain anonymous, and in such cases the work is simply listed as belonging to a private collection.

Observations

This field includes additional information, comments or references considered capable of significantly contributing to the study or understanding of the sculptural work.

Exhibitions

This field lists all the exhibitions in which the sculptural work is known to have appeared, in chronological order from the earliest to the most recent, together with the number given to the work in the exhibition catalogue where this is known. In other cases, the presence of the work in the exhibition has been documented in other ways, and it is listed as hors catalogue.

Bibliography

This selection of the extensive bibliography directly related to the sculptural work includes monographs, exhibition catalogues, press articles and in some cases other ephemeral documents. Each listing also notes the corresponding page number and whether there is an image of the work; and if so, whether this is a true reproduction, an indirect or incidental representation, or a detail. If the work shows different states, this will be indicated in each case.

Related works

Other works in this catalogue raisonné which are important for an in-depth study of the sculptural work. Double-click on the thumbnail to access the complete archive.

Related content

This section includes a number of digital publications related to the sculptural work, which may be of use as a complement to its study. Double-click on the link to access the content directly.