Paysage (Illustration pour Sécheresse), 1936

Executed in 1936. Nicolas and Olivier Descharnes have confirmed the authenticity of this work. 

Paysage (Illustration pour Trois sécheresses) (1936) deploys a uniquely Dalían visual lexicon: the drawer motif, a barren coastal landscape evocative of his native Cadaqués and the isolated human figure. The horizontal composition is spare and exacting—a wide shoreline recedes toward low hills, while two figures each cast an elongated shadow at mid-distance. In the foreground, a large open drawer rests directly on the ground, its Freudian charge intensified by the landscape’s indifference to its presence.

The present work was reproduced in Minotaure (June 1936), the celebrated Surrealist journal that served as one of the movement’s principal platforms during this period—accompanied by the British poet and art patron Edward James’ text “Trois sécheresses.” This collaboration attests to one of the most significant relationships of Dalí’s career. James was among the artist’s most devoted supporters during the 1930s, acquiring major works and providing essential financial backing throughout the decade. That Dalí chose to illustrate James’ poetry with imagery drawn from his most personal artistic vocabulary underscores the depth of their creative exchange.