Restaurabits

Secrets and other curiosities

Detalle de uno de los tigres presentes en la composición de Salvador Dalí “Un segundo antes del despertar de un sueño provocado por el vuelo de una abeja alrededor de una granada”,

Dalí's creative universe

Comparison of the transfer of the drawing from the plastic sheet to the final artwork
“A Second Before Awakening from a Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate” by Salvador Dalí
Comparativa de la transferencia del dibujo entre la lámina plástica y la obra final

To accurately transfer his sketches and preparatory studies onto the support, Dalí employed the drypoint engraving technique on a plastic sheet. He placed these sheets over the sketches and traced them by making fine grooves with a metal needle. These grooves trapped the water-based ink he then applied, enabling the image to be transferred.

A curious double line can be seen in the infrared image, which is the result of this technical process. It is visible in the figures of the elephant, the attacking tiger, the rifle and the sleeping figure of his muse.

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