Shakespeare meets Surrealism in Dalí works at Victoria Memorial

On May 16, International Museum Day, the Victoria Memorial museum brought out twin rare gems from its formidable collection of art — two Salvador Dalí colour etchings from his Macbeth series, originally created in 1946 as illustrations for William Shakespeare’s play.

Dalí details

These two small, pencil-signed works, printed from copper plates onto Japanese rice paper, complete with cotton threads, were donated to the Victoria Memorial in 1990 by Kolkata-born, US-based artist Bimal Banerjee, who had received them directly from Dalí in 1972. These are the only original Dalí etchings currently held by any Indian museum.
Showcased in the ongoing exhibition as ‘Objects of the Month’, this is only the third time in 32 years that the two Dali etchings have been put on public display. They were briefly displayed in 1993 after the donation, shown in 2014 and are currently on view at the Central Hall (Queen’s Hall). "It is exciting to know that the Victoria Memorial Museum is currently showing two etchings. These two works hold unique characteristics of Dali’s style; students, art enthusiasts, and scholars will surely enjoy experiencing these two original Dali prints within the museum context," said Susanta Mandal, artist and professor of fine arts.

Officially listed in the Victoria Memorial’s collection as R7695 and R7696, the etchings will be on display through July 2025.

Surrealism meets Shakespeare

Although untitled, experts have often attributed both etchings to the ‘Witches’ Cauldron’ scene in Macbeth (Act IV, Scene I). Dalí created a set of 12 illustrations for Shakespeare’s tragedy, often featuring recurring symbols from his individual Surrealist style that signal psychological themes, particularly in key dramatic moments like the witches’ cauldron scene. One exhibited etching is believed to depict Macbeth confronting the witches.
The presence of a key — a recurrent Dalí motif that represents unlocking the mind (and sometimes the sexual unconscious — highlights Macbeth’s moral and psychological dilemma.
First shown in 1946, the set of Dalí’s Macbeth etchings had prompted The New York Times reviewer W. Gibbs to describe the series as “one of the season’s most provocative works of art”, praising the Spanish master’s strong pen-and-ink control, complemented by melting, dreamlike distortions. In 1946, as now, his fantastically odd combination of classical and Surrealist imagery both fascinated and unsettled audiences. "The twin Dalis at Victoria are a must see - simply because they are there, just like Mount Everest. Dali offers massive entertainment from inside as well as around his creations. He was a master exhibitionist who loved to create stir by any means. If you put these two names, Macbeth and Dali, side by side, controversy is a given! I am eager to witness his wicked satire, live in Kolkata," said Suvamoy Mitra, author, illustrator and photographer.

Kolkata’s rich art repository
Along with the Dalí’s, on display at the Victoria Memorial are one of the largest collections of aquatints and watercolours by English uncle-and-nephew duo Thomas and William Daniell from the British colonial period. Their work remains among the most important visual records of India under the East India Company, capturing architecture, landscapes, and people in 18th and 19th century India, with both artistic elegance and documentary precision.

There are also works by Johann Zoffany, Samuel Davis and Vassili Vereshchagin’s The State Procession of the Prince of Wales into Jaipur, 1876, a monumental oil painting (~7 × 5 m), the third largest canvas in the collection.
Tips for appreciating the etchings

• Bring a magnifier (if allowed): This could help spot delicate details — threads on Japanese paper, pencil signatures, and the fine lines of Dalí’s draftsmanship
• Focus on surreal motifs: Keys, distorted forms, ambiguous space — all indicate deeper psyche themes. Observe how Dalí reinterprets Shakespeare through Surrealism
• Contextualise with text: Try reading the relevant Macbeth scene (Act IV, Scene I, ‘Witches’ Cauldron’) beforehand to align Shakespeare’s emotional tone with Dalí’s visuals