The small oriental jewel that Dalí painted when he was a teenager

Fig treesThe work of Salvador Dalí is a treasure trove of surprises. His vast and extraordinary output is spread throughout Catalonia, primarily among the museums of Figueres, Portlligat, and Púbol. But, from time to time, these three locations... Dalinian triangle New pieces of great value continue to arrive, which the Catalan public can admire for the first time. This is the case with a fantastic folding screen or screen made with oriental motifs, created by the artist in his earliest period, when he was a teenager. It is now being presented for the first time at the Salvador Dalí Birthplace Museum in the center of Figueres, until September 13.

This piece, with its highly unusual format and motifs, is also little known within Dalí's oeuvre. It dates from the 1920s, probably 1923, when the artist was about 19 years old and finishing his studies in Figueres, before traveling to Madrid or Paris. He uses as a support an old wooden windbreak belonging to his father, a four-folded piece, over two meters long and more than a meter and a half high, onto which is attached wallpaper decorated with guaix, featuring a multitude of Asian figures: men and women holding fans, lanterns, butterflies, yellow, pink, and orange lilies, all set against a vibrant blue background that highlights the entire composition. "It's a very unique piece within his career, especially from his early period. We're giving it our full attention because it allows us to witness a young Dalí just starting out, whose path isn't yet entirely clear, and who draws from very diverse sources: Europe, Catalonia, and Figueres at the time," explains Ricard Bru, curator of the project.

A decorative piece by an essentially intellectual artist

Certainly, Orientalism had long captivated European artists of the time, from Mariano Fortuny to Federico García Lorca, a contemporary of Dalí, but in the Figueres-born painter, Asian aesthetics represent an entirely exceptional iconography. This screen is practically the only example of Japonisme and is also the painter's first known foray into decorative art. In the 1920s, Dalí had not yet immersed himself in the dreamlike language that would make him famous, but he already demonstrated skill with the brush and a clear desire to experiment and explore with the medium.

"The screen shows an artist presenting this Japonisme in a very imprecise way: there are very natural blends of a popular approach to Eastern references. Later, when he goes to Paris, he begins to discover Japanese models and shows more and more direct references to Japan. Here, what he seeks is an Orientalism that transcends the decorative, in a Dalí who then begins to work in a much more intellectual way," adds Bru. "Dalí was very young, a sponge, and this work is connected to a Figueres environment where Eastern influences were arriving, such as the performance of the dancer Carmen Tórtola Valencia in the city in 1920, which the artist was able to see," continues Mariona Seguranyes, Councilor for Culture and Heritage of the Figuer City Council.

The piece is on display in his birthplace, converted more than two years ago into a museum and interpretation center, in a small exhibition dedicated exclusively to the work, entitled An oriental dream. Exoticism and modernity in the young DalíIt is accompanied by a catalogue, unpublished photographs and a series of lectures that highlight the uniqueness of the screen and its value in delving into aspects of Dalí's work that have been little studied until now.

From the painter's sister at the Reina Sofía Museum

The painter's sister, Anna Maria Dalí, a pillar of his life, kept the folding screen for many years in the Llaner house in Cadaqués as a piece of furniture, until she sold it in 1964 to the artist and collector Joan Abelló, from Mollet del Vallès. After passing through several private collectors, it was acquired at auction in 2024 by the Reina Sofía Museum, which undertook a complex four-month restoration process before loaning it to the Dalí Birthplace Museum for a few months. This is only the second time it has been exhibited in Catalonia (it was previously shown for a few months at CaixaForum in Barcelona in 2013), but it was in poor condition then. Now restored, it is expected to begin its regular exhibition circuit.

The Figueres Birthplace Museum is a very interesting, modern, and interactive museum, with videos, maps, and voice-over narration that, through a tour of the rooms where he was born and lived for the first seven years of his life, reconstructs the painter's life in a very educational way to understand the motifs and style of his work. Unlike the Theatre-MuseumJust four streets further north of the city, hardly any of his works are exhibited here, but there are some temporary exhibitions dedicated to pieces from his childhood and youth, such as the current screens, which enrich the museum narrative of the artist's home of origin.