DEPARTURE FOR THE GREAT J0URNEY I looked up and I saw its summit already crowned with rays of the planet that guides us straight on every pathway.

The Italian government commissioned Salvador Dalí to draw this series for the occasion of Dante's anniversary. According to Dalí himself, what fascinated him most in Dante was his "angelic vision of being"; the "cosmic" side of God, incomprehensible for man, is reflected in the mirror of the face of the angel.

Dalí's illustrations for 'The Divine Comedy' are in keeping with the various songs of this dream-like and worldly poem by Dante. After the opening song come the 33 songs of Hell, the 33 songs of Purgatory and the 33 songs of Paradise. Salvador Dalí has always boasted of possessing an extraordinary sense of analytical realism, typically Catalan, with an inclination towards a very personal articulation with the supernatural, the marvellous, the astonishing, the secret, the mysterious.... Suddenly, one understands the interest he feels towards Ramon Llull, Francesco Pujols, and so on.

One can discover in Dalí's paintings and his theoretical writings, the imprint of modern aesthetical, philosophical and psychological thoughts, from Giorgio De Chirico all the way to the Dada Movement. To all that, one must add his interest in natural science, especially molecular biology and genetics, as well as his interest in holography.

All of these illusions, characteristic of Salvador Dalí's personality, blend together in this version of 'The Divine Comedy.'

Illustrations

EDITIONS JOSEPH FORET
PARIS, 1960