Dalí’s largest ever painting with Monaco link to lead Paris surrealism auction
Salvador Dalí’s monumental 13-panel work Bacchanale will lead Bonhams’ Surrealism sale in Paris on 26 March.
Salvador Dalí’s monumental work, Bacchanale — his largest painting ever — is set to headline Bonhams’ Surrealism sale in Paris on 26th March.
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Created in 1939 for the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the 13-panel stage set measures over 20 by 30 metres and was partly produced in Monte Carlo under Dalí’s supervision.
The surrealist spectacle, combining a Mount of Venus motif with a swan symbolising sin and desire, was scored to an adaptation of Wagner’s Tannhäuser overture.
Despite the premiere’s success, Dalí was unable to attend.
Estimated at €200,000–€300,000, the work has been recently exhibited in Madrid and Milan.
The auction will also feature pieces by Francis Picabia, Jane Graverol, Man Ray, André Masson, and Leonor Fini.