Le Songe d’un Alchmiste ou l’Arbre de Vie
Salvador Dali, Spanish (1904–1989)
Portfolio: Alchimie des Philosophes
Date: 1976
Lithograph on parchment, signed and numbered
Edition of HC 25/30
Size: 30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.88 cm)
Frame Size: 44.25 x 37.25 inches
Printer: Art Lithographies
Publisher: Art et Valeur, Paris
Reference: Field 75-12 E

Dalí's tree is represented as a vine in a double helix like Mercury's caduceus, his staff entwined with two serpents. Two figures are dwarfed by the Tree-a faceless woman in an intricately patterned gown, and a faceless man in flowing classical garments. Both figures hold a single large flower-the man lifts his above his head as an offering to another figure: the head of Mercury emerging in the top corner of the print. Mercury's face looks similar to an ancient marble bust, and he is recognizable by a wing sprouting from his headband. The headband was once decorated with three jewels attached to the print. Mercury is the primary figure in alchemy, appearing in most alchemical texts. He is often called the father of alchemy. Red and yellow flowers fall around the Tree; these also hold an alchemical significance. Flowers sometimes represent the beautiful colors that are said to occur in the alchemical vessel when the purification process is at its most perfect. However, flowers of these colors also indicate two vital stages in the process: citrinitas and rubedo, the yellowing and the reddening. The flowers in this print are poppies, and allude to a specific alchemical text by Zosimos of Panopolis, in which he recalls a dream. Dalí references the poppy's narcotic properties by using them as a symbol of dreams and oblivion.