Artist Stories

Salvador Dali Exhumation Shows The Truth About His Fatherhood And Mustache

Zuzanna Stańska 8 September 2017 min Read

Couple of weeks ago we were informing that Salvador Dali’s remains will be exhumed in Spain to collect samples for use in a paternity claim.

A DNA test on the exhumed remains of Salvador Dali show he is not the father of a Spanish psychic claiming to be his illegitimate daughter, the Dali Foundation said.

A court had ordered Dali’s exhumation to settle the paternity suit lodged by Maria Pilar Abel, who would have been entitled to a share of his vast fortune if she was found to be his daughter.

Pilar Abel, 61, who says she is Dalí’s daughter, in Madrid this week. CreditFrancisco Seco/Associated Press

Well, that was something that everyone expected, Mrs. Abel claim sounded a little unbelievable.

But during the exhumation the forensics experts made a startling discovery: The artist’s trademark mustache was still intact.

“The mustache kept its classic 10-past-10 position,” Lluís Peñuelas, the secretary general of the foundation that oversees Dalí’s estate, told reporters on Friday, referring to the artist’s waxed and gravity-defying bristles, which Dalí kept pointed upward, like the hands of a clock. “Finding this out was a very emotional moment.”

Narcís Bardalet, who had embalmed Dalí’s body in 1989, told the Catalan radio station RAC1 that finding the mustache intact was “a miracle.” He added: “Salvador Dalí is forever.”

salvador dali exhumation salvador dali exhumation A 1960s portrait of Dalí. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
A 1960s portrait of Dalí. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The discovery of the mustache was a striking, if unintended, outcome of the opening of Dalí’s tomb, in a crypt beneath the museum that he had designed for himself in his hometown, Figueres, which has also become one of the Catalonia region’s main tourism destinations.

This story is a great addition to the crazy life of Salvador Dali. Surrealism is glued to him even after his death.

Here you can read the story of the 10 weird things you should know about Dali. His exhumation and mustaches are the 11th 🙂

Recommended

John Singer Sargent in atelier Artist Stories

Six Things You Might Not Know About John Singer Sargent

There’s no question that John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was an artistic superstar. Everyone knows his most famous painting Madame X, but do...

Alexandra Kiely 16 March 2023

Artist Stories

Broncia Koller-Pinell: An Artist Lost to Time

If you are like me, it is entirely probable that you have never heard of Broncia Koller-Pinell (1863–1934). It has nothing to do with the quality...

Rachel Witte 27 January 2023

Yves Klein, Peinture de Feu sans titre, 1961 Artist Stories

7 Not Just Blue Masterpieces by Yves Klein

Although he only lived 34 years, it could seem that Yves Klein lived more than one life. This French artist initially devoted himself to the...

Camilla de Laurentis 26 January 2023

john singer sargent madame x studies Artist Stories

Exploring John Singer Sargent’s Unknown Drawings

John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) is primarily known and celebrated for his massive virtuoso portraits of late 19th and early 20th-century American,...

Alexandra Kiely 12 January 2023