An oil painting sold by an antiques shop in Spain for 25,000 pesetas (£120) in 1988 has been certified as the first Surrealist work by Salvador Dali.
Suspecting the painting could be by the influential artist, Tomeu L’Amo bought the piece, which depicts angels in the sky above a volcano, from a store in Girona in Catalonia two decades ago. However, the signature included the date 1896, eight years before Dali was born.
After forensic analysis of the canvas and the handwriting of the dedication, art experts have now confirmed L’Amo’s beliefs, dating The Intrautirine Birth of Salvador Dali to 1921, when the artist was 17 years old, according to The Local.
L’Amo sold the work to a collector in recent weeks for an undisclosed sum.
