In the year 1968, Israeli Independence Day fell on April 3rd. It was a very important moment because the State of Israel was celebrating its 20th anniversary. To commemorate this landmark anniversary, Salvador Dalí worked for two years to create his “Aliyah, the Rebirth of Israel” Suite, conceived and created to commemorate the twenty-year anniversary of the proclamation of the State of Israel. This work— Aliyah— is the titular centerpiece, and lithograph #1, of Dalí’s “Aliyah, the Rebirth of Israel” Suite. To illustrate the various meanings of the Hebrew world “Aliyah”, which means literally “migration to the land of Israel”, the artist took inspiration from the Old Testament as well as contemporary history, and created a series of 25 mixed media paintings using gouache, watercolors and India ink on paper. The works are bold and dramatic, and artistically and historically sensitive.
