Early Dali painting found in Spain

A painting bought for a mere €150 from a dusty antiques shop in north-eastern Spain some 26 years ago has been confirmed as the earliest Surrealist work by Catalan artist Salvador Dali.

Art experts confirmed yesterday (Thursday) at Madrid’s Institute of Bellas Artes that the colourful oil painting, which features angels flying above an erupting volcano, was created by Dali when he was 17 years old.

The work caught the eye of young Art Historian Tomeu L’Amo when he was in a Girona antique shop in 1988.  

Experts used a series of methods to test the painting’s authenticity. They used infrared photography on the canvas to reveal lines made by the artists that were consistent with Dali’s style.

They also analysed the paint to conclude that it could not have been created before 1909 and the inscription lettering, studied by a handwriting expert, was said to have matched the artist’s other works.  

The painting has been titled “The Intrauterine Birth of Salvador Dali”. Art historians have said that it explores a recurring theme in the works and writings of the artist, who died aged 84 at his Figueras home on Catalonia’s Costa Brava in 1989.

There has been much confusion as the canvas bore the date 1896, which was some eight years before Dail’s birth.

However, experts have dated the work to 1921 and are convinced that Dali, known for his stunts and tricks, used a numerology code to come up with the date.  

Mr L’Amo sold the work to an anonymous private collector last month for an undisclosed amount.