SALVADOR DALÍ (1904–1989)
Les Huit Péchés Capitaux (The Eight Capital Sins)
Paris: Atelier Rigal, 1966–1967
A rare and highly important deluxe presentation copy of Salvador Dalí’s celebrated portfolio Les Huit Péchés Capitaux, comprising the complete suite of eight original color aquatints inspired by the traditional Seven Deadly Sins together with Dalí’s own addition, Le Péché Dalinien.
This example is the exceptionally scarce copy H, one of only ten lettered presentation copies (A–J) reserved for collaborators and individuals associated with the publication, distinct from the standard numbered edition. The portfolio is preserved in its original publisher’s box and remains in outstanding, collector-grade condition.
What distinguishes this copy from virtually all other known examples is the presence of multiple original autograph interventions by Salvador Dalí. The justification page bears an original pencil dedication and drawing executed directly by the artist, while one of the aquatints contains a second original pencil drawing accompanied by a personal inscription beginning “Pour Syb…”, traditionally understood to refer to Sybille Hoffmann, the noted German art collector whose collection contained numerous authenticated Dalí works and who has been described in auction records as a personal friend of the artist.
The original drawings are not simple signatures or ownership inscriptions, but fully developed spontaneous Dalinian inventions executed directly on the sheets. The justification page features a fantastical feline-like creature combined with fluid calligraphic forms characteristic of Dalí’s late graphic vocabulary. The aquatint contains an additional skeletal figure rendered in the artist’s unmistakable linear style, transforming the printed work into a unique mixed original. Such interventions elevate the portfolio beyond the category of an editioned print set and place it within the much rarer field of personalized presentation works created for members of Dalí’s immediate circle.
The portfolio itself occupies an important position within Dalí’s graphic oeuvre of the 1960s. Each aquatint explores one of the capital sins through the artist’s highly imaginative surrealist iconography, combining religious symbolism, dream imagery, and psychological transformation. The series culminates in Le Péché Dalinien, a self-referential invention in which Dalí inserts his own uniquely surreal “eighth sin,” merging irony, theatricality, and self-mythology.
Examples of Les Huit Péchés Capitaux are uncommon on the market, while lettered collaborator copies are exceedingly rare. Presentation copies enhanced with original drawings and personal dedications are rarer still and should be regarded as unique works within the edition.
Contents
Complete suite of 8 original color aquatints.
Original justification page.
Original title and text leaves.
Original publisher’s box.
Edition
Copy H from the series of only 10 lettered presentation copies (A–J).
Published by Atelier Rigal, Paris.
1966–1967.
Special Features
Original autograph drawing and dedication by Salvador Dalí on the justification page.
Original autograph drawing and dedication on one aquatint (“Pour Syb…”).
Provenance associated with the collection of Sybille Hoffmann.
Original box preserved.
Exceptional overall condition.
References
Field 66-3.
Michler & Löpsinger 161–168.
Sahli 24–31.
A remarkable surviving example that combines the rarity of a lettered collaborator’s copy with the individuality of original Dalí drawings, personal inscriptions, and distinguished provenance, placing it among the most desirable known variants of Les Huit Péchés Capitaux.
