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This is one of a series of beach scenes at Rosas on the Costa Brava which Dalí painted in 1934-6 using traditional materials applied with a very confident hand. A mahogany panel was prepared with an oil based ground and then the background "set" was painted in paint bound with poppy oil. The figures were painted onto the background with a very liquid oil and resin paint which Dali applied with great skill and precision of placement.

Patricia Smithen is Conservator of Modern and Contemporary Paintings at Tate. She has just completed a study of the paintings by Salvador Dali in the Tate Collection and is contributing to a research project on Tate's Surrealist paintings. She is a member of the Modern Paints Research Project carrying out research and treatments on the surface cleaning of acrylic paintings.

Detail One -
Infrared Mosaic of the Dancers

This image was created from a number of smaller images stitched together. They were taken using a digital infrared camera and they show the underdrawing that was used a preparatory layer on this work over the background paint. The image was transferred from a postcard onto the surface as a guide to paint application.

Detail Two -
Ultraviolet Fluorescent of the Dancers.

When the painting is lit with ultraviolet light, the different materials can fluoresce with different colours and intensities. This dramatic image shows the oil-resin paint fluorescing green in contrast to the oil paint of the background.

Detail Three -
Detail of the central figure

The central figure of the composition is reportedly an image of Dali's cousin, Carolinetta. This detail shows the liquid paint precisely laid down onto the prepared background without any preparatory drawing.

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