Dalí's penchant for optical illusion and veiled iconography are evident in this painting. As seen from a distance, a rendition of Raphael's Sistine Madonna (after 1513; Gemäldegalerie Dresden) is situated within a gargantuan ear—a reference to the Passion of Christ. From close range, it is an abstract work composed of countless particle-like gray and pink dots, reflecting the artist's interest in nuclear physics.
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Inscription: Signed and dated (recto, center left): Dali 1958
[Carstairs Gallery, New York, 1958–at least 1960]; Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II, New York (by 1962–his d. 1987); Drue Heinz, New York (1987; her gift to MMA)
New York. Carstairs Gallery. "Salvador Dalí," December 6, 1958–January 20, 1959, no. 1 (as "Quasi-grey picture which, closely seen, is an abstract one...").
New York. D'Arcy Galleries. "Surrealist Intrusion in the Enchanters' Domain: International Surrealist Exhibition," November 28, 1960–January 14, 1961, no. 32 (as "L’oreille anti–matiére").
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Beaverbrook Art Gallery. "Dunn International: An Exhibition of Contemporary Painting Sponsored by the Sir James Dunn Foundation," September 7–October 6, 1963, no. 19 (lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II, New York).
London. Tate Gallery. "Dunn International: An Exhibition of Contemporary Painting Sponsored by the Sir James Dunn Foundation," November 15–December 22, 1963, no. 19 (lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II, New York).
Tokyo. Prince Hotel Gallery. "Salvador Dali Exhibition, Japan 1964," September 8–October 18, 1964, no. 56 (lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II, U. S. A.).
Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya. "Salvador Dali Exhibition, Japan 1964," October 23–30, 1964, no. 56.
Kyoto Municipal Art Gallery. "Salvador Dali Exhibition, Japan 1964," November 3–29, 1964, no. 56.
New York. Gallery of Modern Art. "Salvador Dali 1910–1965," December 18, 1965–February 28, 1966, extended to March 13, 1966, supplement, p. 4 (as "Quasi-Grey Picture Which, Closely Seen, is an Abstract One; Seen from Two Meters is the Sistine Madonna of Raphael; and from Fifteen Meters is the Ear of an Angel Measuring One Point Five Meters," lent by Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II, New York).
Rotterdam. Museum Boymans-van Beuningen. "Dalí," November 21, 1970–January 10, 1971, no. 86 (as "Sixtijnse Madonna [La Madone Sixtine]," lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II, New York).
Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden. "Dalí: Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Objekte, Schmuck," January 29–April 18, 1971, no. 71 (as "Die Sixtinische Madonna [La Madone Sixtine]," lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II, Pittsburgh).
Sydney. Art Gallery of New South Wales. "Modern Masters: Manet to Matisse," April 10–May 11, 1975, no. 24 (lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II, London).
Melbourne. National Gallery of Victoria. "Modern Masters: Manet to Matisse," May 28–June 22, 1975, no. 24.
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Modern Masters: Manet to Matisse," August 4–September 1, 1975, no. 24.
London. Tate Gallery. "Salvador Dalí," May 14–June 29, 1980, no. 217 (as "The Sistine Madonna," lent by Mrs. H. J. Heinz).
Tokyo. Isetan Museum of Art. "Rétrospective Salvador Dalí," February 28–April 6, 1982, no. 21 (as "The Sistine Madonna," lent by a private collection).
Daimaru Art Museum, Osaka. "Rétrospective Salvador Dalí," April 22–May 5, 1982, no. 21.
Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art. "Rétrospective Salvador Dalí," May 8–June 6, 1982, no. 21.
Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art. "Rétrospective Salvador Dalí," June 11–July 11, 1982, no. 21.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selection One: Twentieth-Century Art," February 1–April 30, 1985, no catalogue (unpublished checklist no. 6; lent anonymously).
Charleroi. Palais des Beaux-Arts. "Picasso, Miró, Dalí: Évocations d'Espagne," September 24–December 22, 1985, no. 40 (as "La Madone sixtine," lent anonymously, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).
Mexico City. Museo Rufino Tamayo. "Dos Obras Maestras de Salvador Dali," March 12–April 20, 1986, unnum. brochure.
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. "Salvador Dalí, 1904–1989," May 13–July 23, 1989, no. 264 (as "Die Sixtinische Madonna" oder "Madonnen-Ohr" ["La Madone sixtine" ou "L'oreille à la madone"], lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, H. J. Heinz Collection [sic]).
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Dalí: The Centenary Retrospective," February 16–May 15, 2005, no. 233 (as "The Sistine Madonna").
St. Petersburg, Fla. Salvador Dalí Museum. "Pollock to Pop: America's Brush with Dalí," December 9, 2005–April 23, 2006, unnumbered cat. (p. 52; as "Sistine Madonna").
Madrid. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. "Lo[s] Cinético[s]," March 27–August 20, 2007, unnumbered cat. (p. 93).
Atlanta. High Museum of Art. "Salvador Dalí: The Late Work," August 7, 2010–January 9, 2011, no. 27 (as "The Sistine Madonna").
Royal Academy of Arts, London. "Dalí/Duchamp," October 7, 2017–January 3, 2018, no. 140.
St. Petersburg, Fla. Dalí Museum. "Dalí/Duchamp," February 5–May 27, 2018, no. 140.
Howard Devree. "Art in Review: Pioneer Work by Hartley and Maurer—Recent Paintings by Dalí." New York Times (January 4, 1959), p. X22.
Margaret Breuning. "Dali and Anti-matter..." Arts 33 (January 1959), p. 52.
Stuart Preston. "New York." Burlington Magazine 101 (March 1959), p. 118.
Marvin D. Schwartz. "News and Views from New York." Apollo 69 (February 1959), p. 50.
"Art: The Dali News." Time 73 (January 5, 1959), pp. 66, 68, ill. (with the artist and detail).
Miguel Utrillo. "Dali en Zig-Zag: Con El Pintor en Port-Lligat, Barcelona, El Museo del Prado y Paris." Blanco y Negro no. 2436 (January 10, 1959), unpaginated, ill., calls it "La oreja de Angel".
Robert Descharnes. The World of Salvador Dali. New York, 1962, pp. 192, 224, ill. p. 193 (color), calls it "Ear with Madonna"; lists it in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Heinz II, Museum of Modern Art, New York; publishes the artist's description of this work: "Quasi-grey picture which, closely seen, is an abstract one; seen from six feet is the Sistine Madonna of Raphael; and from forty-five feet is the ear of an angel measuring five feet: which is painted with anti-matter; therefore with pure energy. Alchemistic idea of the era. Rabelaisian idea of birth through the ear".
Paul H. Walton. Dali / Miró. New York, 1967, p. 29, colorpl. 44, calls it "Ear with Madonna"; erroneously locates it in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Max Gérard. Dalí de Draeger. [Paris], 1968, unpaginated, colorpl. 129, calls it "La Vierge Sixtine"; lists it in the collection of Henry J. Heinz II, New York, with the Museum of Modern Art.
A. Reynolds Morse. Salvador Dali (Spanish, 1904– ): Catalog of a Collection. Ninety-Three Oils 1917–1970. Cleveland, 1972, p. 180, no. 9, ill. p. 182, lists it in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, on loan from Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz, Jr.
Susana Leval inModern Masters: Manet to Matisse. Ed. William S. Lieberman. Exh. cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. New York, 1975, pp. 202, 263, no. 24, ill. p. 203.
Luis Romero. Dalí. Secausus, N.J., 1975, p. 352, figs. 190 (color detail), 204 (detail), calls it "Sistine Madonna".
Robert Descharnes. Salvador Dali. New York, 1976, pl. 53, calls it "The Sistine Madonna".
Daniel Abadie, ed. Salvador Dalí rétrospective 1920–1980. Exh. cat., Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne. Paris, 1979, pl. 326, calls it "La Madone sixtine" and locates it in a private collection.
Selma Holo inRétrospective Salvador Dalí. Exh. cat., Isetan Museum of Art. [Tokyo], 1982, unpaginated, ill. (color).
Albert Field inRétrospective Salvador Dalí. Exh. cat., Isetan Museum of Art. [Tokyo], 1982, unpaginated, no. 21.
Dawn Ades. Dalí and Surrealism. New York, 1982, pp. 185–86, 213, fig. 149, calls it "The Sistine Madonna" and locates it in a private collection.
M[aria]. G[abriella]. Guglielmi. Fotografia e paranoia / L'Occhio de Salvador Dalí. Rome, 1983, p. 65, ill.
Ignacio Gómez de Liaño. Dalí. (1st ed., Barcelona, 1982). New York, 1984, p. 31, colorpl. 114 (detail), calls it "Ear with Madonna" in the text and "Sistine Madonna" in the caption.
William S. Lieberman. Dali. Exh. brochure, Museo Rufino Tamayo. Mexico City, [1986], unpaginated, ill. (color).
Roberta Smith. "Shifting Art Scene Gets Fresh Venues." New York Times (September 11, 1987), p. C23.
Lisa M. Messinger in "Twentieth Century Art." Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 1987–1988. New York, 1988, pp. 62–63, ill. (color).
Karin v. Maur. Salvador Dalí, 1904–1989. Exh. cat., Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. Stuttgart, 1989, pp. XXXI, 348, no. 264, ill. p. 349 (color).
Paul Moorhouse. Dalí. London, 1990, pp. 105, 108, ill. (color), calls it "The Sistine Madonna"; erroneously locates it in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Karin v. Maur inLos Dalís de Dalí. Exh. cat., Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporáneo, A.C. Mexico, 1990, p. 42, fig. 85, calls it "La Madona sixtina".
Jennifer Gough-Cooper and Jacques Caumont. Ephemerides on and about Marcel Duchamp and Rrose Sélavy: 1887–1968. Milan, 1993, unpaginated, ill.
Robert Descharnes and Gilles Néret. Salvador Dalí, 1904–1989: The Paintings. Vol. 2, 1946–1989. Cologne, 1994, p. 768, no. 1127, ill. pp. 502 (color detail), 503 (color), call it "The Sistine Madonna" and erroneously locate it in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Christopher Masters. Dalí. London, 1995, p. 20, calls it "Sistine Madonna".
Robert Radford. Dalí. London, 1997, p. 269, fig. 173 (color), calls it "The Sistine Madonna".
Bice Curiger inHypermental Rampant Reality 1950–2000. From Salvador Dalí to Jeff Koons. Exh. cat., Kunsthaus Zürich. Ostfildern-Ruit, 2000, p. 11, ill., calls it "The Sistine Madonna" or "Madonna Ear".
Ignacio Javier López. "The Old Age of William Tell (A Study of Buñuel's 'Tristana')." MLN 116 (March 2001), pp. 305–6, calls it "Sistine Madonna".
Edouard Jaguer. "À propos d'un écart absolu de Marcel Duchamp (et de l'exposition internationale du surréalisme de New York, 1960–61)." Étant donné Marcel Duchamp no. 5 (2003), pp. 22–23, 34, 40–41, 45, 48, ill. pp. 22, 35 (installation photo, Exh. New York 1960–61), discusses the controversy over Duchamp's selection of this picture for Exh. New York 1960–61; reproduces the pamphlet published by André Breton and other Surrealists protesting its inclusion in the exhibition.
Michael R. Taylor in Dawn Ades. Dalí: The Centenary Retrospective. Exh. cat., Palazzo Grassi, Venice. London, 2004, pp. 386–89, no. 233, ill. (color).
Dawn Ades. Dalí: The Centenary Retrospective. Exh. cat., Palazzo Grassi, Venice. London, 2004, p. 21.
Robert Cozzolino. "Why Are Salvador Dalí's 'Late Works' His Most Contentious?" Persistence and Memory: New Critical Perspectives on Dalí at the Centennial. Ed. Hank Hine, William Jeffett, and Kelly Reynolds. St. Petersburg, Fla., 2004, pp. 145–48, fig. 1, calls it "The Sistine Madonna".
Karin von Maur inDalí: Afinidades Electivas. Ed. Pilar Parcerisas. Exh. cat., CaixaForum. Barcelona, 2004, pp. 97–98, colorpl. 61, calls it "Madona Sixtina o La Madona oreja" and erroneously locates it at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Màrius Carol and Josep Playà. El enigma Dalí. Barcelona, 2004, pp. 199–200.
M[aria]. Lluïsa Borràs. Salvador Dalí: Vida i obra d'un geni. Barcelona, 2004, pp. 160, 282, calls it "La Madona de la Capella Sixtina" or "L'orella de la Madona".
William Jeffett inPollock to Pop: America's Brush with Dalí. Exh. cat., Salvador Dalí Museum. St. Petersburg, Fla., 2005, p. 42, ill. p. 52 (color).
Catherine Millet. Dalí et moi. Paris, 2005, pp. 89–91, 185, figs. 32a, 32b (overall and detail), calls it "La Madone Sixtine" and erroneously locates it in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Roberta Smith. "A Brazen Visionary with a Surreal Self." New York Times (February 18, 2005), p. E38.
George Stolz. "The Great Late Salvador Dalí." Art News 104 (February 2005), p. 122.
Robert Rosenblum. "Salvador Dalí. Philadelphia Museum of Art." Artforum 43 (Summer 2005), p. 320, ill. p. 9 (color detail).
William Jeffett inDalí and the Spanish Baroque. Exh. cat., Salvador Dalí Museum. St. Petersburg, Fla., 2007, p. 77, calls it "Sistine Madonna".
Osbel Suárez inLo[s] Cinético[s]. Ed. Osbel Suárez and Eugenio Fontaneda. Exh. cat., Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Madrid, 2007, pp. 23–24, 25 n. 22, pp. 246–47, ill. p. 93 (color).
Michael R. Taylor. "The Dalí Renaissance." The Dalí Renaissance: New Perspectives on His Life and Art after 1940. An International Symposium. Ed. Michael R. Taylor. Philadelphia, 2008, pp. 15–19, 21, 27, 34 nn. 48, 49, 51, figs. 2 (installation photo, Exh. Philadelphia 2005), 11, calls it "The Sistine Madonna".
Gavin Parkinson. "How Dalí Learned to Stop Worrying about Surrealism and Love the Bomb." The Dalí Renaissance: New Perspectives on His Life and Art after 1940. An International Symposium. Ed. Michael R. Taylor. Philadelphia, 2008, pp. 83–84, 89 nn. 57, 59.
William Jeffett. "The Artist and the Dictator: Salvador Dalí and Francisco Franco." The Dalí Renaissance: New Perspectives on His Life and Art after 1940. An International Symposium. Ed. Michael R. Taylor. Philadelphia, 2008, pp. 140–41.
Mary Ann Caws. Salvador Dalí. London, 2008, pp. 141, 158, calls it "Sistine Madonna (Ear with Madonna)".
Elliott H. King inSalvador Dalí: The Late Work. Exh. cat., High Museum of Art. Atlanta, 2010, p. 54 n. 95, p. 169, no. 27, ill. p. 83 (color).
William Jeffett. Dalí Doubled: From Surrealism to the Self. A New Critical View of Dalí. St. Petersburg, Fla., 2010, p. 252, calls it "The Sistine Madonna".
Frédérique Joseph-Lowery and Catherine Millet. "Why Dalí is More Than a Crowd-Pleaser." Artpress no. 395 (December 2012), pp. 45–46, ill. (color).
Catherine Grenier. Salvador Dalí: The Making of an Artist. Paris, 2012, p. 219, ill. p. 218 (color).
Gabriel Montua. Dalís 20.Jahrhundert: Die westliche Kunst zwischen Politik, Markt und Medien. Berlin, 2015, p. 393, fig. 94.
Lucia Moni inDalí: Il sogno del Classico. Ed. Montse Aguer and Thomas Clement Salomon. Exh. cat., Palazzo Blu, Pisa. Milan, 2016, p. 34, fig. 14 (color).
Torsten Otte. Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol: Encounters in New York and Beyond. Zürich, 2016, pp. 260–63, colorpl. 32, calls it "The Sistine Madonna".
Cécile Debray inDalí/Duchamp. Exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts, London. London, 2017, p. 24, no. 140, ill. p. 187 (color).
Carme Ruiz González and Anna Otero in Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí. Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings by Salvador Dalí. Online resource [salvador-dali.org], 2017 (ongoing), no. P 734, ill. (color), call it "Quasi-grey picture which, closely seen, is an abstract one; seen from two metres is the Sistine Madonna of Raphael; and from fifteen metres is the ear of an angel measuring one metre and a half; which is painted with antimatter; therefore with pure energy / Antimatter Ear / Madonna"
.
Claire Howard in Stephanie D'Alessandro and Matthew Gale. Surrealism Beyond Borders. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2021, pp. 180, 328, 347 n. 1, fig. 166 (color).
Salvador Dalí (Spanish, Figueres 1904–1989 Figueres)
1950
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