Le spectre du père d’Hamlet lui révélant son assassinement par empoisonnement (Acte I, scène 5)

The present work by Salvador Dalí bares the metaphysical and psychoanalytic themes that characterise his Surrealist genius. Taking as its subject matter a scene in the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, Dalí’s Le spectre du père identifies, with dreamlike imagery, a spectacle of torment. With branches emerging from his head and shrouded in black, the principal figure, Hamlet, is consumed by a mystical spirit that communicates the details of his father’s death. This ghostly force has infiltrated Hamlet's soul.
Evidencing Dalí’s interest in religion, space, science and morality, the notions of death and resurrection so intrinsic to this scene in Hamlet resonate with the artist during this late stage in his career. In the background, avian creatures – bats and birds – are engulfed by a poisonous, dark blue fume. To the right stands a figure brandishing a weapon at the spirit force: triumph in the face of death.
Throughout his career, Dalí executed illustrations for many editions of classical literature, including Don Quixotte, The Divine Comedy, Alice and Wonderland and The Old Man and The Sea are among some of the works of literature Dalí created images for. While the artist also paid homage to Shakespeare in several other suites, his series of illustrations for Hamlet is considered to be one of the most impressive. Unlike his other literary illustrations, Salvador Dalí's Hamlet was commissioned from the artist by the family of the present owner in the 1960s, and remained unpublished until 2014. The present work represents only part of the series of ten gouaches and watercolours, executed around 1967 by Dalí as illustrations for the portfolio of etchings which he completed a few years later.
Extremely varied in its graphic style and entrancing with its dramatic imagery, Dalí’s series of illustrations for Hamlet shows the artist’s interpretation of central figures and events in a complex and evolving narrative. This group of works offers a fresh insight into Dalí's unique relationship with classical and literary tradition, and his constant search for an avant-garde re-interpretation of myths and iconographies.