In 1977, Dalí conceived a bronze sculpture in which God appears as a giant thumb, with branches of life growing out of it. The foundation's cast is one of an edition of 350.
The foundation's collection holds Salvador Dalí's bronze "Vision of the Angel," conceived in 1977 and first cast in 1984. It belongs to the series of sculptures Dalí produced in the last decades of his life, made using the classical lost-wax casting process and finished with a green patina. The figure stands about 44 centimeters tall, in an edition of 350 plus 35 artist's proofs.
The composition is built around an unexpected image: God is not shown as a figure at all, but as an enormous thumb, out of which life grows like branches from a tree. To its right stands a man full of strength and energy, representing humanity. To its left, wing resting on a crutch, stands an angel, for Dalí a symbol of the contemplative, meditative spirit.
The idea is very much in keeping with late Dalí, who spent his career fusing Catholic iconography with the language of surrealism, using religious subjects as occasions for visual paradox. In "Vision of the Angel" he states his theme plainly: humanity is bound to God, yet the knowledge God possesses remains beyond human reach.
The work is catalogued in the sculpture and objects catalogue raisonné compiled by Robert and Nicolas Descharnes (reference Eccart 617). Casts of "Vision of the Angel" today appear in private collections and on the art market alongside Dalí's other late bronzes.
