Salvador Dali's Bible

Biblia Sacra.
Mediolani, Italy: Rizzoli Editions, 1967.
(Prothro B-180)

Illustrations by Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) created one hundred fine paintings for this five-volume edition of the Bible which employed the Latin text from the Vulgate of Saint Jerome. The colophon and prefatory matter are also printed in Latin. Dalí’s original illustrations were completed in watercolor, gouache, ink, and pastel and a complex set of techniques that included lithography and serigraphy, was required to reproduce them for publication. The work was commissioned by Giuseppe Albaretto, a friend of Dalí’s who hoped that the project would develop Dalí’s faith and relationship with God by virtue of the reflection on the text needed to complete the work.

This copy is number 327 of the “Luxus” edition of 1499 copies. Two additional editions were produced, including the “Magni Luxus” edition of one hundred ninety-nine copies printed on handmade paper, and the “Ad Personem” edition of ninety-nine personalized copies which were also printed on handmade paper. This copy was the gift of Elizabeth Perkins Prothro.