Salvador DalĂ: The Persistence of Memory
Salvador DalĂ’s The Persistence of Memory presents a dreamland like no other. Painted with exacting realism, its famous clocks, which the artist compared to softening camembert, allude to the elasticity of time and memory, both of which fascinated him. The central figure, saddled by one such timepiece, invites the viewer to consider the eccentric DalĂ’s psychological landscape beyond the canvas, while the background calls to mind his Catalonian homeland. When asked which contemporary painters he admired, DalĂ once said, “First DalĂ; after DalĂ, Picasso; after this, no others. . . . The two geniuses of modern painting.” While he was ever a mustachioed provocateur, DalĂ is now widely considered a leading inspiration in the 20th century's Surrealist art movement.
Description
Salvador DalĂ’s The Persistence of Memory presents a dreamland like no other. Painted with exacting realism, its famous clocks, which the artist compared to softening camembert, allude to the elasticity of time and memory, both of which fascinated him. The central figure, saddled by one such timepiece, invites the viewer to consider the eccentric DalĂ’s psychological landscape beyond the canvas, while the background calls to mind his Catalonian homeland. When asked which contemporary painters he admired, DalĂ once said, “First DalĂ; after DalĂ, Picasso; after this, no others. . . . The two geniuses of modern painting.” While he was ever a mustachioed provocateur, DalĂ is now widely considered a leading inspiration in the 20th century's Surrealist art movement.
