Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)

Nicolas, Olivier and the late Robert Descharnes have confirmed the authenticity of this work.

“Fire is a constant theme in the œuvre of Salvador Dalí: reminiscences of grilled sardines on a rosemary fire in the covers of the Cap de Creus and the summer of fires that burned the olive groves and oaks of the hills of Cadaquès. The flames of these fires were engraved in his memory. In the thirties, a small brushstroke sufficed to inflame these figures furnished with drawers, pianos, trombones, cypresses and a desert with flaming giraffes or elephants and rhinoceroses. The same flames and sparks that illuminate the night of March 19 – the Fallas of Valencia. The graceful Woman Aflame illustrates this unexpected application of flames to a human body supported by a crutch, provided with nine, half-opened drawers whose contents are filled with mystery.” (R. & N. Descharnes, Dalí, The Hard and the Soft, Spells for the Magic of Form, Sculptures and Objects, Azay-le-Rideau 2004, p. 255).