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PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN COLLECTOR

1904-1989
LE COMTE-DUC DE OLIVARES

measurements
152.5 by 101.5cm.

alternate measurements
60 by 40in.

Executed in 1965.

signed Dalí and dated 1965 (lower right)

gouache, watercolour, and pen and ink, oil and black crayon on card

PROVENANCE

M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 30th March 1988, lot 404
Galerie Marcel Bernheim, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1988

LITERATURE

Robert Descharnes, Dalí, l'~uvre et l'homme, Lausanne, 1984, illustrated in colour p. 376 (with incorrect measurements)
Robert Descharnes & Gilles Néret, Salvador Dalí. The Paintings 1946-1989, Cologne, 1994, vol. II, no. 1235, illustrated in colour p. 554

NOTE

Like Pablo Picasso, Dalí was greatly influenced by the art of their fellow-countryman Diego Velázquez, and both executed works that were inspired by the seventeen-century master. Dalí's admiration for Velázquez can be seen throughout his long career, from his paintings on the theme of Las Meninas, to his participation in exhibitions such as Homage to Velázquez, held in Barcelona in 1960 and The Secret Number of Velázquez Revealed, held in New York at the end of the same year. The present work is Dalí's monumental version of Velázquez's The Count-Duke of Olivares on Horseback of 1634, which he would have seen at the Prado Museum. Occupying the entire space of the composition, the horse and rider are rendered in quick, swirly brushstrokes that imbue the work with a sense of movement and drama.

Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count of Olivares and Duke of San Lúcar (1587-1645), was a Spanish royal favourite and minister. He was born in Rome, where his father was Spanish ambassador at the time. His compound title is explained by the fact that he inherited the title of count of Olivares, but was created Duke of San Lucar by King Philip IV of Spain. He begged the king to allow him to preserve his inherited title in combination with the new honour - according to a practice almost unique in Spanish history. Therefore he was commonly spoken of as 'El condeduque'. By taking up this theme that combines a historical figure with a great Spanish artist, Dalí creates a monumental image that glorifies the art and history of his native country.