Venus, Mars and Cupid (Vénus, Mars et Cupidon)

In Venus, Mars and Cupid, Salvador Dalí takes one of the great subjects of classical mythology and transforms it through the freedom, sensuality and wit of his own visual language. The work belongs to his 1971 Suite mythologique nouvelle, a series in which figures and stories inherited from antiquity are reimagined for the twentieth century.

At the centre of the composition are Venus, goddess of love, and Mars, god of war, accompanied by Cupid, the mischievous god of desire. Venus appears naked and exposed, while Mars, richly adorned in violet and gold, moves intimately towards her. Cupid occupies the scene almost as an observer of the encounter he has helped to create. The result is simultaneously classical and unmistakably Dalí.

The delicacy of the work owes much to Dalí’s use of etching and drypoint, intaglio techniques that allowed him to translate the fluency of his draughtsmanship into print. Individual lines describe bodies, gestures, costume and surrounding space. The selective use of pochoir colour adds another dimension: violet draws attention towards Mars and his costume, while yellow and ochre animate the hair, the furniture and surrounding details. Large areas remain almost entirely uncoloured, which allows the drawing to remain dominant.

This impression is numbered 111 from an edition of 150 and signed by Dalí in pencil. The composition is documented as Michler & Löpsinger 487 and Field 71-8H, placing it within the recognised record of Dalí’s original graphic work. A clearly defined edition, pencil signature and recognised catalogue raisonné references add considerably to the confidence with which a Dalí print can be collected.

At 105 × 80 cm framed, this is not a small illustration intended to disappear into a portfolio. On the wall, the scale gives Dalí’s fluid drawing room to breathe, while the restrained colour becomes increasingly apparent as the viewer approaches.