Salvador Dalí (1904 - 1989) postcard to Pablo Picasso.
c. 1958
Pen on original silver gelatin photo postcard.
“Ole!! Punt de Trobada Port Lligat. Pel juliol. Ni Dona ni Cargol. Un petó. Gala. Dalí.”
“Hello! Meeting point, Port Lligat. In July, neither woman nor snail. A kiss. Gala. Dalí.”
After first meeting in Paris in 1926, Dalí’s relationship with Picasso was shaped by profound admiration, fascination and a desire for friendship. Dalí regarded Picasso as both an artistic inspiration and a formidable rival, later referring to him as ‘his best enemy’. Through recalling shared stories and memories this postcard is an especially intimate example of Dalí’s attempts to evoke a shared Catalan memory in the hope of awakening Picasso.
The phrase “Pel juliol. Ni Dona ni Cargol - In July, neither woman nor snail’, recalls an anecdote associated with Picasso’s stay in Cadaqués in 1910, whereby the artist Ramon Pichot’s sister was being pursued by a lover attempting to kiss her. She rejected him, retreating to a balcony and shouting out “Pel juliol. Ni Dona ni Cargol” – “In July, neither woman nor snail.” The phrase remained a private joke in Dalí’s correspondence with Picasso, appearing repeatedly in his letters and postcards.
Here, Dali’s words are accompanied by a surrealist drawing of two snails kissing, a shooting star, birds and a guitar - transforming the postcard into a miniature work of art. On the reverse of the postcard, a silver gelatin photograph of Dali’s house and the bay of Port Lligat. A visual queue for Picasso to come and see him.
Despite Picasso’s silence, Dalí continued to write to the artist several times a year. He wrote over one hundred letters & postcards to Picasso between 1927-1970. He never received a response.
Provenance
An important private collection of Salvador Dalí works, Spain.
Autographs Des Siecles Gallery, Lyon.
Private Collection, London. Acquired from the above.
Salvador Dalí (1904 - 1989) postcard to Pablo Picasso.
c. 1958
Pen on original silver gelatin photo postcard.
“Ole!! Punt de Trobada Port Lligat. Pel juliol. Ni Dona ni Cargol. Un petó. Gala. Dalí.”
“Hello! Meeting point, Port Lligat. In July, neither woman nor snail. A kiss. Gala. Dalí.”
After first meeting in Paris in 1926, Dalí’s relationship with Picasso was shaped by profound admiration, fascination and a desire for friendship. Dalí regarded Picasso as both an artistic inspiration and a formidable rival, later referring to him as ‘his best enemy’. Through recalling shared stories and memories this postcard is an especially intimate example of Dalí’s attempts to evoke a shared Catalan memory in the hope of awakening Picasso.
The phrase “Pel juliol. Ni Dona ni Cargol - In July, neither woman nor snail’, recalls an anecdote associated with Picasso’s stay in Cadaqués in 1910, whereby the artist Ramon Pichot’s sister was being pursued by a lover attempting to kiss her. She rejected him, retreating to a balcony and shouting out “Pel juliol. Ni Dona ni Cargol” – “In July, neither woman nor snail.” The phrase remained a private joke in Dalí’s correspondence with Picasso, appearing repeatedly in his letters and postcards.
Here, Dali’s words are accompanied by a surrealist drawing of two snails kissing, a shooting star, birds and a guitar - transforming the postcard into a miniature work of art. On the reverse of the postcard, a silver gelatin photograph of Dali’s house and the bay of Port Lligat. A visual queue for Picasso to come and see him.
Despite Picasso’s silence, Dalí continued to write to the artist several times a year. He wrote over one hundred letters & postcards to Picasso between 1927-1970. He never received a response.
Provenance
An important private collection of Salvador Dalí works, Spain.
Autographs Des Siecles Gallery, Lyon.
Private Collection, London. Acquired from the above.
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