Figueres, 4th December, 2017
We have presented today the online publishing of the fifth and last section of the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings by Salvador Dalí, presenting a new design. A catalogue that represents 17 years of intensive research and analysis. The catalogue was presented by Montse Aguer, Director of the Dalí Museums, Cinzia Azzini, supervisor for Digital Media, Carme Ruiz, senior curator of the Foundation, and Fiona Mata, coordinator of the Centre for Dalinian Studies.
Online Renewal of the Catalogue Raisonné
The new catalogue was presented with a new clean and visual design that looks for a balance between the content and the graphic elements to create a pleasant experience for the user.
A Scientific Attribution Project, widespread and free of charge
The Fundació Dalí has always waged for research and innovation and has dedicated part of its potential to investigate and to spread the knowledge of Salvador Dalí. It has been 17 years since this scientific research project began, and it is one of the most valuable contributions to the academic field. It is open to everyone, free of charge, and available in Catalan, Spanish, English and French.
The Catalogue is an attribution project, determining the works' authorship. It is conceived as a work-in-progress, continuously updated and expanded with new data. Our aim is to establish beyond doubt the works that belong to Dalí's output as an artist, produced between 1910 and 1983.
The Dalí Foundation and the Centre for Dalinian Studies laid out this research project, since one of our main purposes is to study and divulge the works of the painter.
One of the first online catalogues raisonné of an artist
Being one of the first institutions to publish a catalogue implies having few models, and it's an even more difficult task when the works have the complexity of those by Salvador Dalí. At the early beginnings, back in 2000, we based our project on two other undertakings: the non-digital Catalogue Raisonné of Joan Miró and that of William Turner promoted by the Tate Gallery in London. Analysing other projects that started later, we can state that they followed our example, like the catalogues of Joaquim Torres-Garcia or Roy Lichtenstein.
The Fifth Section 1965-1983
Today we present the fifth and latter section that encompasses the years from 1965 until his last year of production, 1983. It includes 233 paintings. The total amount of catalogued paintings is 1,000, up to the date. However, it should be clarified that some of the paintings are composed of two elements, as for example, the stereoscopic paintings and, thus, should be treated as one.
Conclusions
Users will easily apprehend the artistic evolution of the painter. With the publishing of this latter section, it will be evident how Púbol and the Dalí Theatre-Museum afterwards, where the centre of attention of the artist. Finally, we will be able, for the first time, to overview the vast production of the last years of his life.
We believe that the definitive establishment of Dalí's pictorial oeuvre by means of a catalogue raisonné is not only a contribution to a better knowledge of the artist's work but, in addition, an important tool for the study of the 20th century history of art, for the general audiences and also for international researchers. For the owners of paintings and for the general art market, the inclusion of a work within this catalogue is guarantee of its authenticity.
