Salvador Dali & The Surrealists: The Argillet Collection | Page 4

Sa lvad o r Da li & T h e S u r re a list s

PIERRE
ARGILLET

THE ARGILLET COLLECTION

Pierre Argillet was an avid collector of works by Futurists, Dadaists and Surrealists, and very early
on met the major artists of the 20th century. In 1930, at the age of twenty, Argillet was deeply
impressed by the “Chants de Maldoror” of Lautreamont. He began a spiritual journey along a path
that was originated by Rimbaud and later pursued by Lautreamont, Marinetti, Andre Breton, Tzara
and Chirico. He counted Duchamp and Jean Arp among his acquaintances, but when he met Dali,
complicity led to a life-long friendship that lasted until the painter’s death in 1989.
Be it luck or fate, Dali’s delirious vision led to a long and fruitful collaboration between artist and
publisher. They produced nearly 200 etchings. To name a few:  la Mythologie (16 planches,) le Christ,
Sainte-Anne, l’Incantation. In 1966, Dali reworked 7 pieces of the Bullfight set of Picasso, giving them
the Dali touch. He continued to reinterpret the works of his fellow Catalonian, overlaying them with
his macabre, yet humorous vision. He ridicules bishops’ benedictions. Images hidden in the crowd
and arena suggest the skull of a bull fighter. In another etching, a galloping giraffe catches fire as
if in a tragicomedy. His subjects vary from windmills, parrots, fish and a statue of a woman occupy
another arena. In 1968, Dali illustrated ‘la Nuit de Walpurgis’ of Faust (21 pieces) using  rubies and
diamonds as engraving tools, a technique that lent an incomparable delicacy to the design; next came
the “Poems” of Ronsard (18 pieces) and Appolinaire (18 pieces.) In 1969, Dali created “Venus in Furs”
after Sacher Masoch (20 pieces,) and between 1970-71, the Suites of Don Juan (3 pieces) and Hippies
(11 pieces.)
In 1974, artist and publisher parted their ways. Pierre Argillet would only accept etchings done
in the traditional way, on copper, and refused to go along with Dali’s desire to make photo-based
lithographs. But by using this process, Dali went on to produce a large number of works that appealed
to a more widespread audience than ever before, but they were also subject to more criticism.

Dali and Pierre Argillet, 1963

The Pierre Argillet Collection demonstrates high standards of quality, and the impassioned
collaboration between an artist and his publisher. This ensemble of works has appeared in the bestknown museums in the world. Musee Boymans, Rotterdam, 1971; Musee Pushkin, Moscou, 1988;
Reynolds-Morse Foundation, St. Petersburg, Florida; Kunsthaus, Zurich and Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart,
1989; Isetan Museum of Art in Tokyo, Daimaru Art Museum, Osaka and the Hiroshima Prefectural
Museum of Art, Japan, 1990. This collection’s permanent home is at the Museum of Surrealism in
Melun, France, and the Dali Museum in Figueras, Spain.