The illustrations on display were created by surrealistic Spanish painter Salvador Dali (1904-1989) for the Divine Comedy. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The 100 illustrations that surrealistic Spanish painter Salvador Dali (1904-1989) created for the Divine Comedy are now on exhibition at the Bund 111 Art Space in Shanghai.

The exhibition started on May 26 and will run until July 30.

The illustrations on display were created by surrealistic Spanish painter Salvador Dali (1904-1989) for the Divine Comedy. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The illustrations on display were created by surrealistic Spanish painter Salvador Dali (1904-1989) for the Divine Comedy. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The Divine Comedy is a poem created by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) between 1304-1308 that portrays his imagined journey into the afterlife, from Hell, through Purgatory to Paradise.

The exhibition showcases the 100 illustrations that surrealistic Spanish painter Salvador Dali (1904-1989) created for the Divine Comedy. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Dali's illustrations for the Divine Comedy were commissioned by the Italian government in 1950, which marked the seventh centenary of Dante's birth. However, the project was set aside because the Italian public were unhappy with the fact that Dali was not an Italian artist. Dali later completed the 100 illustrations for the poem over the next 10 years.