These famous original artworks represent the universal “Tarot” and were created by Dalí in collage, watercolour and gouache before they were printed in actual card form. Dalí worked diligently on each image to create an ethereal, surreal artwork that would invoke the famous personages of the Tarot, diviners of the past, present and future.
It was Gala, Dalí’s wife and lifetime muse, who nurtured his interest in mysticism, and it was for her that this beautiful series was painted. Dalí’s “Tarot” is the first reinterpretation of the major and minor Arcana since 1910, and the only set to have been painted by a great artist.
The cards are popularly associated with fortune telling and are generally understood as sequential symbols of spiritual growth. This theme was fascinating for Dalí whose artistic works sought to liberate the unconscious from the constraints of everyday reality.
Dalí has given each card his own highly personal imagery, while at the same time maintaining the traditional symbolism. This collection has rarely been exhibited and illustrates Dalí at his most creative, during the height of his imaginative powers. By combining traditional tarot symbolism, fragmentary reproductions of fine art and Dalí’s own personal repertoire of drawn forms, the images are startling hallmarks of Surrealism.
