King of Swords by Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí1904-1989 | SpanishKing of SwordsSigned “Dalí” (lower center)Gouache on photographic backgroundThis unique gouache by Surrealist master Salvador Dalí combines the artist’s celebrated and singular point of view with the spiritual world of tarot. Dalí began conceptualizing an original custom-made tarot deck when he was approached by Albert Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond film Live and Let Die, who sought a tarot card deck to use in the film. Though the contract eventually fell through, Dalí continued the project of his own accord, largely thanks to the inspiration of his wife Gala, who had an interest in mysticism. The present gouache reimagines the traditional King of Swords card, which features a seated monarch on a throne. In Rider–Waite Tarot, the king’s throne is decorated with butterflies, and in Victorian Fairy Tarot, the king has butterfly wings himself. The King of Swords symbolizes sound intellectual understanding and reasoning and heralds a strong will an