The 12 Tribes Of Israel, Tapestry By Salvador Dalí – Bolduc, Notarized Certificate - No. 1468

The 12 Tribes of Israel, Salvador Dalí – Tapestry with Bolduc, notarized certificate and Identity Card numbered 116/500 - 126Lx178H

The 12 Tribes of Israel by Salvador Dalí

When Genesis meets surrealism, we get works that are high in color and creativity. A look back at “The 12 Tribes of Israel” through Salvador Dalí’s screen prints depicting the famous biblical episode.
In the story of Genesis, the twelve sons of Jacob (also called Israel) founded twelve tribes and shared the promised land. These “founders of the tribes of God” were named Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.
According to what God had prophesied to Abraham (great-grandfather of the twelve founders of the tribes), his descendants would found many nations. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the State of Israel, Salvador Dalí took up the biblical theme to deliver a series of watercolors entitled The 12 Tribes of Israel, in which he represented each of the tribes. His unique style and interpretation of the stories gave life to extraordinary works.

The Tribe of Reuben, It is said that the Tribe of Reuben (in Hebrew Re'uven), when it undertook the exodus to settle in the land of Gilead, numbered 46,500 men. The land of Gilead extended from the Arnon in the south, along the entire coast of the Dead Sea, to the extreme north, where the Jordan flows. Only 43,730 men arrived on this land, the smallest of the lands granted to the tribes.

Tribe of Dan The tribe of Dan, conquered the city of Laish by razing it to the ground. After the massacre, the tribe rebuilt it in the same place, surrounded by fertile lands and lush vegetation. It is believed that the episode of the golden calf of Aaron, Moses' brother, took place here.

Tribe of Naphtali When this tribe began its exodus, it numbered 53,000 men, which fell to 45,400 once it reached the north-east of Israel, near the Jordan River and the lakes of Merom and Galilee, in a territory of 800 square kilometers with magnificent landscapes and a mild climate. The beauty of the place was such that the southern part was nicknamed "the garden of Palestine". Now, Naphtali is an almost entirely desert territory, on the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee, where the city of Tiberias is located.

Tribe of Simeon The tribe of Simeon was divided and scattered, and its numbers dwindled as it traveled through the wilderness. Only a third of the tribe reached its territory, which was within the territory allotted to Judah in southeastern Israel. The tribes of Simeon and Judah joined forces to lead the capture of Jerusalem. Like the tribe of Reuben, which settled east of the Jordan, the tribe of Simeon had a strong influence on the Tribe of Levi The tribe of Levi was the tribe historically chosen to form the priestly class of Judaism.

The tribe of Levi, to which Moses belonged, had the exclusive right to learn and teach Torah to the other tribes, but it did not own any territory. The symbol of the tribe of Levi is the breastplate of the high priest of the Israelites, and is represented by a square inlaid with 12 precious stones (symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel).

Tribe of Judah Jacob, his son Judah and his three grandsons began the exodus to Egypt with 74,000 men. The tribe of Judah had inherited a third of the territory east of the Jordan, which corresponded to about 6,000 square kilometers and was divided into four parts: the south (the Negev) with a large expanse of pastureland, the valley (Sefela), a land extending between the central mountain range and the Mediterranean, the mountain, extending from Hebron to Jerusalem, and finally the desert near the Dead Sea, divided into the desert of "En-gadi", the desert of "Judah" and the desert of "Maon" relatively small in the history of Israel.

Tribe of Asher The tribe of Asher was the most blessed of the tribes of Israel, with the most sons and the most beautiful women. Its territory stretched along the Mediterranean Sea, from Mount Carmel to the Leontes River. The land of Asher was so fertile that, in times of shortage of raw materials, it supplied olive oil to the rest of the Israelite territory.

Tribe of Gad The tribe of Gad consisted of 40,000 men who settled on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. The Gad were a warlike tribe that conquered other regions until they joined the Kingdom of Judah. ​​Their red and black emblem has a camp drawn in its center. Moses is said to have been buried in the territory of Gad.

Tribe of Issachar The tribe of Issachar occupied one of the most fertile territories of Israel, which included the Valley of Jezreel and the low mountains east of Mount Tabor. Jacob, in the act of blessing his sons before his death, compared Issachar to a strong and bony donkey, an expression that also refers to his tribe.