Carroll Carstairs Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above in November 1959

Executed on cream-colored card. There is a thin line of mat staining (measuring approx. 1/8 in. wide) to the edge of the sheet around the periphery of the work. Some very light staining in the upper right and upper left corners and along the top edge. There is very light surface dirt to the background. There is a spot of glue visible to the edge of the lower left of the butterfly collage element. There are a couple of spots of foxing scattered around the white ground. The pigments are very fresh and strong. The work is in overall very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

At the time the present work was created, Dalí had begun to move away from the Surrealist genre that defined his earlier years and began exploring other stylistic trends of the time. Dawn Ades has written about this post-war period and how Dalí began "linking the manifestations of Pop Art, optically illusionistic painting, photographic hyperrealism, Divisionism, Abstract Expressionism, stereoscopy and holography, all of which make their appearance in his post-war work, in the realm of realism, although this could be subdivided into the pursuit of pictorial and scientific realities" (Dawn Ades, Dalí, London, 1988, p. 173).

In the present work Dalí manifests his interest in a "realm of realism," or more specifically "scientific realties" by depicting the collage butterflies as both costume elements and specimens. Furthermore, the careful delineation of receding perspective and hyper-realistic rendering of the figure's exposed musculature suggest an academic effort which, along with the figure's garb and posture, strongly evoke the Renaissance and particularly Leonardo Da Vinci (see fig. 1). Meanwhile, the graphic stren🐠gth of the composition and the use of mixed media truly signify Pop Art. All of these techniques exemplify Dalí's fervor and experimental attitude towards the new, p🍨ost-war approach of artistic creation.