Salvador Dalí, Étude à l'architecture, chevalier et personnages, 1939

Étude à l'architecture, chevalier et personnages, 1939

India ink on paper
38 by 27.5 cm (15 by 10⅞ in.)
Signed 'Salvador Dalí' and dated '1939' (lower right); inscribed 'Pour Andre Maurois, avec toute l'afection [sic] Salvador Dalí 1942' (lower left)
72132

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Executed in 1939–42. Nicolas Descharnes, Robert Descharnes and Olivier Descharnes have confirmed the authencity of this work. Etude à l’Architecture, Chevalier et Personnages (1939–42) is an evocative drawing that combines...

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Executed in 1939–42. Nicolas Descharnes, Robert Descharnes and Olivier Descharnes have confirmed the authencity of this work.

Etude à l’Architecture, Chevalier et Personnages (1939–42) is an evocative drawing that combines architectural precision with dreamlike figuration, showcasing Dalí’s mastery of line and composition. The work features a monumental arch that frames a distant horizon, crowned by a solitary knight poised atop the Neoclassical structure. Below, a mounted rider and shadowy human form animate the scene, merging classical motifs with Surrealist ambiguity.

The drawing reflects Dalí’s ongoing fascination with the interplay of structure and fantasy, and the tension between reality and imagination. The radiant linear rays and delicate hatching techniques convey both light and spatial depth, inviting the viewer into a timeless architectural landscape charged with symbolic mystery. Dedicated to the French writer André Maurois, the inscription reveals Dalí’s personal connection to the intellectual and artistic circles of his time.

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