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I claim my surrealist discipline

Manuscript

Author

Author Salvador Dalí

Description

Handwritten manuscript by Salvador Dalí, undated, preserved in a folder entitled ‘Question Dalí affair’.

Revolutionary Dalí; whilst addressing aesthetic problems, this text – which is missing the first five pages – evokes the question of ‘Itlerism’, which piques interest when knowing the painter's subsequent career. Regarding aesthetics, we can note the notion of ‘dépaysement’, fundamental in the aesthetic reflection of André Breton at this time. We measure to what extent theory is born in exchange, and to what extent painters feed on the reflections of “literators” (on this point see the letters from Juan Miró to Michel Leiris, for example), and writers on the experiences of painters. [Atelier André Breton website, 2005]

Handwritten text, in a folder titled by Breton ‘Question Dalí affair’.
- Handwritten text by Salvador Dalí written in black ink. André Breton noted in black pencil:
‘missing the first 5 pages’:
‘It seems rude to me to reject amongst the Surrealists, the fact that Chirico used well-known objects, gladiator breastplates and statues, bananas, railroad tracks. [...]
‘Finally, I claim my surrealist discipline which I consider to be exemplary.’
[auction catalogue, 2003, translation by Christina Heflin, 2023]