The Persistence of Memory

The Persistence of Memory (; ) is a painting by artist Salvador Dalí. It was done in 1931. It is one of his most famous paintings.

The painting was first shown in 1932. It has been in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City since 1934. The painting typifies what critics call "surrealism".
It is easy to recognise and is often used in popular culture.

Description
The painting was the first to have a melting pocket watch, called a "soft watch". Some people thought that the soft watch was inspired by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Dalí said that the watches were not inspired by the theory of relativity, but by Camembert cheese melting in the sun.

There is a human in the middle of the painting. The orange clock at the bottom left is covered in ants. Dalí often used ants in his paintings as a symbol for death.

The Persistence of Memory uses "the exactitude of realist painting techniques"."Dali's dream environments were represented through the exactitude of realist painting techniques, like those found in his Persistence of Memory (1931)". Surrealism and architecture, by Thomas Mical; Psychology Press, 2005The painting looks more like something a person might see in a dream, rather than awake.

Landscape
The rocks to the right are supposed to be a tip of the Cap de Creus peninsula in north-eastern Catalonia. Many of dalio paintings were inspired by the landscapes of Catalonia. There is a strange shadow in the foreground of the painting, which is a reference to Mount Pani.Salvador Dali. Surreal years. Art, paintings, and works. Commentary on 40+ works of art by Salvador Dalí.

Versions
Dalí returned to this idea with The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1954). This painting is in the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. The first Persistence of Memory is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Dalí also made many lithographs and sculptures of soft watches.

References

Other websites
The Persistence of Memory  on Authentic Society
The Persistence of Memory in the MoMA Online Collection
"Keep your eyes wide shut" by Kelly Grovier in The Observer
The mapping cylinder from the Fomenko et al. book
Homotopic Topology
Salvador Dali Museum , St. Petersburg FL USA

Category:1930s paintings
Category:Spanish paintings
Category:1931 works