Original Sin (Biblia Sacra)

Salvador Dali (1904 – 1989) “Original Sin” (Peccatum Originis) from ‘Biblia Sacra’ (Volume 1) - Mixed technique lithograph in colors on handmade paper from the iconic "Biblia Sacra" suite (1967), Rizzoli Editions, Milan, Italy. Signed and dated in the stone (none were signed.) The sheet size is 19 x 13.75 inches, and with professional matting and frame, the piece measures 28 x 20 inches.

Dali was commissioned by his friend and patron, Giuseppe Albaretto, to illustrate the Bible in the hope that Dali would re-connect with God and the Church. It took six years (1963 – 1969) to complete the paintings that were also produced in lithographic form. In this image (Number 8 of 105), Dali illustrates the story of the entry of sin into the world. Adam and Eve, who succumbed to sin, are depicted in ink, and Eve is faceless. The serpent who brought evil to the world has a female face and is prominently painted in yellow with a tail wrapped in a spiral around the tree of knowledge.

References: R. Michler and L.W. Löpsinger, Salvador Dalí, Catalogue Raisonné of Prints II, Lithographs and Wood Engravings 1956-1980, New York, 1995, #1607
A. Field, The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dalí, New York, 1996, pp. 201-208