Salvador Dali sculpture, "The Two Nikes",1966, Victory of Samothrace, Homage to Raymond Roussel, signed and numbered 129/175.
This work is a representation of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the famed second century B.C. Greek sculpture of the goddess, Nike. Serving as the ultimate reference point to beauty, that sculpture had a profound influence on Renaissance art, which in turn inspired much of Dalí’s later work. However, Dalí here has doubled the famed statue, mirroring the winged figure with the figures facing chest to chest. In this sculpture he is also paying homage to French writer Raymond Roussel, a close friend of the artist’s and one who exerted profound influence on the Surrealist group in France.