Introduction
The emblematic painting of Salvador Dali, the persistence of memory, is most likely one of the most famous works of art around the world, with La Joconde de Da Vinci, the Guernica de Picasso and some Others - and certainly, it is the most recognizable surreal painting ever created.
After all, whether or not you know your baroque robber, these gusset watches that melt strangely are instantly recognizable. ... so much so that the persistence of memory is always referenced and parodied in art, literature and popular culture, more than 80 years later.
But how this painting (rather small) been able to arouse such interest on a global scale? What makes Dali's imagery so different from that of other surrealist artists of his time, or elsewhere now?
and what do these gusset watches mean soft Who mimic?
The persistence of memory by Salvador Dali
To answer all these questions, let us first make a short trip in 1931, the year when the persistence of memory was painted.
In 1931, Salvador Dali had already attended (and had been expelled) the Academy of Art from San Fernando in Madrid. He was 27 years old and lived in a fisherman's house recently bought in the city of Port Lligat on the Mediterranean Sea with his future wife, Gala.
he was very far from center of Spain - in fact, His chalet was only 25 miles south of the Franco-Spanish border. But Dali had already visited Paris several times and had started to experience the emerging movement of surrealism.
and it was here, on this strange rocky coast, that Dali was going to take the seeds of what he had learned in Paris and Madrid, and create something new - something eminently "dali -esque".
later in his life, Dali often talked about his desire to confuse the eye of Spectator with hyper-realistic images that convey impossible and dreamlike scenes. But even at this relatively young age, Dali wanted to force his spectators to meet something indescribable, indefinable, unknowable. To make us ask us, even if it is only for a second, what is real?
for Dali, this questioning and this ignorance are the characteristics of surrealism. For others, on the other hand, it means something a little different.
A brief history of the surrealist movement
Today, the word "surrealism" generally evokes the strangely fantastic paintings of Dali or Magritte, but this is not how the movement began.
the founder of surrealism was not an artist. His name was André Breton, and it was a writer and poet who published "the first manifesto of surrealism" in Paris in 1924. From the early 20s to the Second World War, Breton and a group of writers , artists and activists in Paris formed the nucleus of the surrealist movement.
Like the members of the Dada movement before them, the surrealists believed that logical thought was the basis of all the problems of the world . The invention of psychoanalysis by Freud and the emphasis placed on the subconscious, the dreamy spirit, had a great influence on their efforts to create art and literature using automatic or subconscious effort, rather that logical planning.
However, Breton was not only interested in the creative aspect of surrealism. He also wanted to use it as a political movement, first by changing the way people saw the world around them, then helping the oppressed to rise up against their oppressors.
This led to Frequent dissensions within the surrealist movement, because various artists and writers were linked to the creative aspect of surrealism, but not to the political aspect.
Dali is one of the many artists who ended up taking Their distances with this group in Paris and, during the following decades, its name and renown proved to be even more brilliant than those of Breton. Today, he is known as one of the most prolific surreal artists in history.
Salvador Dali's paint methods and materials
Dali usually painted on a tense canvas or a wooden panel, although some of his first works are also on cardboard. It has often started by covering its surface with a white background (as today's artists use the white gesso to prepare the canvas), then painted the horizon line, the sky and the landscape.
For his important characters and subjects, he added a very detailed drawing in black or blue pencil over his empty landscape. He then used small brushes and added tiny oil paint lines to obtain a hyperrealist result. Thanks to a scan of ultraviolet light, it was also determined that Dali mixed (at least sometimes) his oil painting with a natural resinous material, such as the Damar resin, to give his painting an ultra smooth appearance and very very liquid.
Dali's first works were influenced by the impressionists, as well as by the realism of painters like Diego Velazquez, and the cubism of Picasso and Braque. Like many artists, Dali learned from his contemporaries and the rich history of art in Europe.
, however, when he reached his chalet by the sea, his own style emerged.
Salvador Dali first inspired Freud's writings on the subconscious. Unlike the surrealists who worked with "automatic" methods or used chance to create art, Dali tried to maintain a dream and illusion state while carrying out his hyperrealist paintings. Dali invented his own term for his mental gymnastics, which he called "paranoid criticism".
he used this method for the following 50 years to create surreal landscapes, stripped in harsh and empty steps, With strong shadows and distant horizons. He populated these worlds of figures, animals and surreal objects entirely made, a bit like the actors of a striking dream which one can only remember after the alarm.
Analysis of "The persistence of memory"
Since Dali's intention was to use his art as a vehicle for his subconscious, we have every reason to analyze the persistence of memory through the lens of which is Dali - his experiences as life, desires and fears. By keeping this in mind, let's examine the 4 parts of this table which were the most important for Dali:
The landscape
With the clear blue of the Mediterranean visible from the windows of his house and the foothills of the Serra de Rodes which rise behind him, it is not surprising that the persistence of the memory present of calm waters and Professor cliffs that recall his new house - certainly, these distinct cliffs help to link this room to Dali himself, in a very personal way.
Cliffs found in the painting of Salvador Dali, "The persistence of memory".
However, Dali mainly used this landscape as a backdrop and as a means of creating a clear visual space for the 'Surrealist story that takes place.
for the landscape itself, only a few emerging characteristics: an olive tree (apparently) dead pushing on a large square platform, and another more distant platform, more Close to water. The olive tree shows the stiff growth and the lifeless nature of this world, while serving as a structural support to support one of the watches Gusset in Dali melt in the middle of the table. < /p>
The two platforms help balance the composition (a counterpoint to the cliffs on the right side of the table) and bring a clear meaning of the depth of perspective without diverting the attention of the rest of the painting. Dali has chosen not to use buildings - or natural or organic elements - to add perspective, undoubtedly to enhance the "lifeless" and empty nature of this dreamlike place.
Gousset watches that melt
We have talked a lot about these soft watches, and rightly so, they are unique at the work of Salvador Dali, and are the most memorable objects of this painting. When it was questioned about them, Dali simply said that they had been inspired by the melting of cheese, but looking at the whole of Dali's work, we can see that they are a little more that that.
Fondant pocket watch in the painting by Salvador Dali, "The persistence of memory"
In all his surrealist paintings, Dali plays with expectations: we expect a watch that it is solid, well made, that it keeps an hour perfect with a "tic-tac, tic-tac" resolved to The seconds needle which is inexorably advances. These timepieces, however, contradict this expectation. They are soft, flexible and do not look like a watch at all. ... the one that is draped on the dead branch of the tree almost seems to melt in itself, the needles and the figures dissolving slowly in the dial of the watch. If these needles have been able to move in the past, they certainly no longer move.
There is no doubt that time - or the concept of time, in this dreamlike place - does not work in a familiar and reliable way . And if time is not reliable, then what guarantees do we have that any element of this world acts logically?
The short answer? There is no guarantee. No constant. Everything in this surrealist world that Dali has created is unknowable.
A surrealist fusion
In the center of the table is an even more confusing image. A figure, or a creature, lies insane on the group. The Pickl watch flat draped on his back almost looks like a saddle, but there are also other interpretations. Perhaps it weighs it, or has just fallen by chance on her elongated body.
surreal figure found in Dali's painting, the persistence of memory
whatever it is, the Figure looks like a partial self -portrait of Dali. A nose, and perhaps a closed eye with long antennae-shaped eyelashes, form the most left side.
This can represent the dreamlike and tilted experience of Dali himself in this space . The rocks below are used to illustrate its state of fluid fusion, just like the tree branch and the platform do the same for two of the pocket watches .
A real self-portrait or not, we may never know it with certainty, but it is a popular opinion given Dali's interest in the exploration of his own subconscious through his art.
the anthill of ants
The last important element of this table is the cluster of ants which gathers on the back of the only pocket watch Face hidden in the composition.
Found found gathering on a melting pocket watch in the painting of Dali the persistence of memory
There is something to wonder if this fourth watch, with its copper orange metal, is not a subsequent addition to the composition. Dali may have added it to give more importance to the watch, perhaps, of course, to these insects who arrive to take any crumbs of food and life that they can find. If we consider the lonely fly (a warning sign of illness) found on the dial of the watch above, these ants could easily be considered as agents of destruction.
A painter could appreciate the composition in both directions: if the last pocket watch containing the ants had not been included in the table, this table would have a group of elements Visuals a little more typical (formed by the three watches) recalling the classic paintings with their structured and triangular compositions.
with the fourth watch and the ants included, Dali created a sort of visual arrow - thus creating a Table with a much more dynamic and non -traditional composition. The proximity of the fourth watch with the edge of the painting attracts the gaze, just like its more intense orange color and the contrasting black ants that come together on top.
There is no reason to believe, Certainly, that the fourth watch was added later, but its visual importance clearly shows that ants (or their destructive influence, at least) have a particular meaning for Dali.
Estimated value during an art auction
The persistence of memory has never been sold at auction and was given anonymously to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in 1934 (where it remained for more than 80 years). Given its current owner, its importance in the history of art and its cultural popularity, it is unlikely that it will never be sold.
however, we can extrapolate the value of the Persistence of memory by examining the most expensive purchase of a painting by Dali to date, as well as the sales of works of art from other modern artists.
The most expensive painting of Dali is the portrait of Paul Eluard, who sold for just under 22.5 million dollars in 2011 and which gives us a reference value for the persistence of memory. In recent years, the paintings of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Pablo Picasso have all sold between $ 100 and 200 million, which offers a higher value (and perhaps a better estimate). Consequently, it is likely that the persistence of memory would be sold between $ 50 and $ 150 million.
Where is the persistence of memory today?
If you are in New York, you can see the persistence of memory yourself by visiting the Museum of Modern Art, located in the center of Manhattan.
The MoMA is open seven days a week, from 10:30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., and until 8 p.m. Friday. Entrance tickets cost $ 25 for adults, $ 18 for the elderly (65 years and over), $ 14 for full -time students and are free for children under the age > Free tickets for the general public are also available on Friday evening, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., only Friday evening.
Similar paintings by Salvador Dali
While many surrealist dali paintings contain similar arid landscapes and prominent rocky cliffs, he returned to the specific landscape of the persistence of memory in the 1950s, creating a secondary work entitled the disintegration of The persistence of memory.
The painting by Salvador Dali entitled" The disintegration of the persistence of memory "< /em>
In this painting, Dali uses its original composition as a starting point, then breaks down it in pieces.
under all this, a block of blocks (referring to the new era nuclear energy and atomic weapons) seems to disappear definitively in chaos.
Rights of authors and sources
The Persistence of Memory and the Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory are copyright © Salvador Dalí, Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
The Surrealist Movement
How the Surrealist Movement Shaped The Race of Art History
The Surrealist Art Movement: André Breton, The Subconscious, and Surrealism
The Surreist Manifesto < /p>
Salvador Dali
a Timeline of Salvador Dali's Life
Salvador Dali, The Famous Surrealist Painter
Salvador Dalí: Spanish Painter, Sculptor, Filmmaker, Printmaker, and Performance Artist
A href = "https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/"> Salvador-dali.org
The Persistence of Memory
Official Moma exhibit of the persistence of Memory
The History of the Persistence of Memory
wikipedia & amp; Wikiart Articles
other articles & amp; Resources
Salvador Dalí's Forgotten Horizon > Oil Painting certified as Early Work by Dali
Dali Work Still Highest auction for a Work of Surrealism > List of Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold