Dali illustrates the fate of Argus, a monster of Greek mythology. He was said to have many eyes, and was employed by the gods to act as a guard. Accordingly, Hera, the wife of Zeus, charged the monster to spy on her husband’s mistress, Io. Upon finding the spy, Zeus ordered Hermes to kill Argus. Consequently, Hera felt great guilt for the tragic fate of the monster.  Therefore, she placed his many eyes into the tail of her favorite bird, the peacock.

Argus is a part of Dali’s Mythology Suite. To clarify, sixteen images were made illustrating symbolism of ancient Greek myths. Furthermore, Dali mixed engraving and drypoint etching with hand coloring. To illustrate this, Dali started each piece with “hazard objectif”. This means “the meaningful manifestation of chance”. Thus, the artist began each image with an abstract smudge and developed from that.

The Argillet Collection of Salvador Dali Drawings and Original Etchings is a collaboration between Surrealist Salvador Dali and art collector and publisher Pierre Argillet. This collection demonstrates the highest standards of quality, superb draftsmanship, and artisanship. As a result, this body of work is possibly the finest work produced by Dali during his career. Between 1934 and 1974, the two men subsequently created and published nearly 200 works. Ultimately, many of which have been displayed in some of the best known museums around the world.