Scientific analysis shows that the iconic painting The Temptation of St Anthony (1946) by Salvador Dalí, preserved in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, exhibits small signs of degradation which may have occurred very shortly after its completion.

The process of preserving artworks is crucial. Many paintings are accountable for conserving historical perspectives, holding deep cultural and religious meanings, educating future artists on stylistic techniques, and providing important societal insights from the time it was produced.

Dalí’s was analysed by experts using various analytical techniques. The study was published in the Open Access journal Heritage. They found that the components of the painting exhibited peculiar behaviours of degradation. The use of amber, reactive zinc oxide pigments, uncured paint and environmental elements contributed to the abnormal behaviours of degradation within Dalí’s pièce de resistance.

Banner Image: Salvador Dalí, The temptation of St. Anthony, 1946, oil on canvas, 89.5 cm × 119.5 cm, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (Inv. 7223). Photography: CEA (ULiege) ©Fundació Gala-Salvador Dali/SABAM Belgium.

Painting origin and composition

Salvador Dalí was a renowned artist, most well-known and praised for his dream-like surrealist paintings. Notable works include The Persistence of Memory (1931) and The Elephants (1948). ‘The Temptation of St. Anthony’ was produced in 1946 for David L Loew-Albert Lewin’s motion picture, which called for paintings that addressed the allegory of St. Anthony, a key biblical story that explored the physical and metaphysical aspect of resisting human desire.

Consistent with his surrealist style, Dalí’s masterpiece presented demonic temptation in the form of eerie monsters, gold and seductive women all balanced on a parade of nightmarish elephants with elongated limbs. A towering horse is positioned in front of a depiction of St. Anthony who attempts to resist the oncoming procession of desires.

Salvador Dalí, The temptation of St. Anthony, 1946, oil on canvas, 89.5 cm × 119.5 cm, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (Inv. 7223). Photography: CEA (ULiege) ©Fundació Gala-Salvador Dali/SABAM Belgium. [Figure 1: Heritage 2026, 9(2), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage9020085] 

Dalí utilised an array of oil pigments in the painting and an amber medium to coat the work. A closer inspection of the piece reveals heterogenous and uneven distribution  the painting’s surface. This could have either been an intentional artistic choice or the result of abnormal behaviours within elements of the pigments used.

A multi-disciplinary team consisting of experts specialising in the scientific analysis and preservation of art took a closer look at Dalí’s painting to determine the cause of the visual deterioration

Analysis reveals unusual signs of degradation

To understand the cause of the degradation, the team used an extensive array of imaging tools and analytic techniques including:

• High-resolution visible light and UV illumination
• Digital microscopy
• Macro-X-ray fluorescence elemental mapping (MA-XF)
• Raman Spectroscopy
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
• X-ray diffraction (XRD)
•  Pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS)

Combining the use of these analytical tools enabled the researchers to visually peel back each physical element of the artwork to generate a comprehensive understanding of its overall composition.

Distribution map of different elements of the painting (Titanium (Ti), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co) and Zinc (Zn).)

The team first differentiated the pigments present in the painting to determine its elemental composition. The image above demonstrates some of the different elements within the pigments used by Dalí.

Comparing early photographs of the paintings, the researchers found characteristic blue-white colouring and transparency. This indicates early changes were already present in the painting, rather than slow degradation over the years.

Subsequent analysis showed degradation around areas where high concentrations of zinc oxide was present on top of the layers of pigment containing lead. Areas where zinc oxide was applied with no underlying lead did not show signs of degradation. Furthermore, there was visible wrinkling of the lead-based white pigment in the figure of St. Anthony and the rock.

These observations show potential issues which may have occurred during the unfinished curing process, resulting in atypical interactions between elements within the pigments. Dalí’s choice of utilising amber as a medium to glaze his paintings may have also contributed to the unusually early deterioration of the piece. Its interaction with and lead-based layers may have increased the mobility of metal ions within the superimposed layers.

Lastly, the analysis of the painting revealed chloride contamination across the painting. The researcher theorize that this contamination may have occurred during transoceanic transport, where the seawater-rich environment compromised areas of the paining that were not completely cured. Unstable temperature and humidity levels and exposure to elements from sea water could have contributed to these signs of early degradation found in the painting.

Scientific analysis of the painting reveals valuable insights into its composition and evolution throughout the years. Furthermore, it gives art historians further knowledge on Dalí’s unusual technique of using amber to glaze his work which he noted as being a ‘sublime’ medium compared to other more traditional methods of setting oil paintings.

The combination of using amber and key components such as zinc and lead-based pigments combined with

A stable future for Dalí’s masterpiece

Although atypical signs of deterioration were seen throughout Dalí’s The Temptation of St. Anthony, the team confirm that the painting is now completely stable and has no risk of imminent degradation.

Francisca Vandeptitte, curator of modern art at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, provides unwavering reassurance of the painting’s stable future:

“A close link was established between the material and technical analyses carried out in the laboratory and the classical art-historical research conducted in archives and libraries. The unusual signs of ageing observed in the paint layer can be explained by the intrinsic nature of the work and by its history.

These alterations have now stabilized, ensuring that visitors will continue to be able to appreciate the work fully in the future.”

This study provides insights into Dalí’s masterful artwork depicting a key biblical allegory commenting on human desire and morality. Technical analysis of artwork is vital for the process of preserving artwork, and thus, vital for the conservation of history, culture, and religion.

To read more novel research on arts and culture, access the Open Access journal Heritage, or MDPI’s full journal list.