The Persistence of Memory
Salvador Dalí
Description
This surreal scene shows a desert-like dreamscape with a few familiar but distorted objects. Most famously, there are soft, melting clocks draped over tree branches, ledges, and a strange, fleshy form on the ground. One clock even has ants crawling on it. The landscape in the background is calm, with cliffs and water, but everything in the foreground feels warped, eerie, and unreal.
Analysis
The Persistence of Memory is a classic example of Surrealism, a Modernist movement that explored the unconscious mind, dreams, and irrational ideas. Instead of focusing on reason or realism, Dalí paints how time might feel when we're dreaming - soft, stretched, meaningless.
This painting challenges the way we usually think about time, reality, and memory. The melting clocks suggest that time loses its power in the dream world. The oddly shaped creature in the center (possibly a distorted self-portrait) adds to the feeling that identity and logic have melted too.
Details
- Date:1931
- Medium:Oil on canvas
- Dimensions:24 cm x 33 cm
- Location:Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City