Four of Swords by Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí
1904-1989 | Spanish

Four of Swords

Signed “Dalí” (lower center)
Gouache on photographic background

Representing a unique blend of spiritualism and Surrealism, this gouache hails from Salvador Dalí’s fascinating and highly inventive deck of custom-made tarot cards. The original commission for the design came from Albert Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond film Live and Let Die, who sought a tarot deck to use in the movie. Though the contractual deal eventually fell through, Dalí continued the project of his own accord, largely thanks to the inspiration of his wife Gala, who had a strong interest in mysticism.

The Surrealist maestro drew upon a number of influences to complete the deck, which comprised 78 cards in total—22 major arcana and 56 minor. His own self-portrait served as the Magician card, while his beloved wife Gala naturally posed for the Empress. Jan Gossaert’s 1516 Renaissance work Neptune and Amphitrite was the basis for the Lovers card, and the Queen of Cups card represents a fascinating marriage of Duchamp’s iconic Mona Lisa remix L.H.O.O.Q. with a portrait of Elizabeth of Austria. The iconography of the deck is as eclectic as one would expect from Dalí; it is little wonder that it took him 10 years to complete the project.

This gouache is among the original 56 minor arcana cards, depicting the Four of Swords. Traditionally, this card shows a knight or soldier lying in repose, suggesting rest, recovery or contemplation after struggle. When upright, the card signals the need for retreat, meditation and healing—an interlude before returning to action. Reversed, however, the card suggests restlessness and the dangers of ignoring the body and mind’s call for pause.

Dalí reimagines the Four of Swords with dramatic Surrealist flair. The central figure of the composition is unmistakably modeled after Jacques-Louis David's famed 1793 masterpiece, The Death of Marat, one of the great icons of the French Revolution. By inserting this symbol of sacrifice into the tarot’s structure, Dalí infuses the card with a meditation on mortality and transcendence. The painted serpent introduces a sense of danger and metaphysical tension.

After Dalí completed his deck, the original cards were assembled and published in a limited art edition in 1984. While a number of editions have since been printed of the cards, this Four of Swords is the artist’s original gouache creation.

Born in Catalonia in 1904, Dalí was formally educated in the fine arts in Madrid, particularly falling under the influence of the Impressionists and the Renaissance masters. At a young age, he became associated with the Madrid avant-garde group Ultra, though he eventually became more acquainted with other movements such as Cubism, Dada and Futurism. By the late 1920s, his mature Surrealist style had already begun to emerge, and in 1929 he officially burst onto the avant-garde art scene with his Un Chien Andalou, a short film he made with Spanish director Luis Buñuel.

Today, he is remembered as one of the most legendary and significant contributors to Surrealism. His Persistence of Memory, with its melting clocks, is arguably the most recognizable painting of the movement. Two museums—one in St. Petersburg, Florida and another in Catalonia—are entirely devoted to his oeuvre; other important works by the artist can be found in the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), among many others.

Circa 1971

Paper: 12" high x 9 1/8" wide (30.48 x 23.81 cm)
Frame: 29 1/4" high x 25 3/4" wide x 1 1/2" deep (74.30 x 65.41 x 3.81 cm)

Provenance:
Private Collection, New York
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
Private Collection, United States
M.S. Rau, New Orleans