Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí

A surrealist painter, the Spanish Salvador Dali is one of the most enigmatic artists of the twentieth century. Known for his weird and outlandish subject matter, Dali's most famous work of art is probably The Persistence of Memory (1931), often called just "Clocks" and widely regarded as a Surrealist masterpiece. But what is the meaning behind Salvador Dali's painting The Persistence of Memory? What do all of those melted clocks mean?Salvador Dali was a great artist who was a great self-publicist and showman. The combination was an irresistible formula for success. Born in 1904, most of the works he did revolved around painting, sculpture work, and he worked as a graphic artist and designer as well. During the course of his career, he experienced many different art forms, and experimented with a few styles. It allowed him to further his points of expression, and the design pieces which he created during the illustrious and extensive career that he had.

Basic Information

Salvador Dali Clocks MeaningIf Persistence of Memory depicts a dream state, the melting and distorted clocks symbolize the passage of time that we experience while dreaming. There are many different ways to interpret the meaning of Persistence of Memory. If we look at the art through the perspective of a dream state, the distorted clocks don't have any power in the dream world and are melting away because of that.

Salvador Dali The Dream MeaningSurrealist painting had moved toward the arena of dreams for inspiration and relied less on the ideas of automatism that had marked the beginning of the movement. The Dream was painted in 1931 but the main image, the woman's head, had first appeared the year before in The Fountain, where, although in the background, it was a striking and dominant feature. Dali found the inspiration for the woman from a scene on a box and a monument in Barcelona.In the foreground of this dark painting is the bust of a woman, painted in dull, metallic grays, her hair floating above her as if frozen in movement. The colors used and her apparent immobility bring to mind the Classical myth of Medusa. The woman has no mouth and her eyes also appear sealed shut, like those of the giant head in Sleep. The absence of a mouth, together with the seeming immobility of the woman implies a loss of control, of paralysis. Ants crawl across the face in the place where a mouth should be. As a child, Dali had found a pet bat crawling with ants and so, for him, they became symbols of death and decay.

Picture Description

1. Salvador Dali was born on 11th May 1904 in Figueres, Spain.2. His brother, also called Salvador, had died nine months before Dali was born. Dali, encouraged by his parents, believed he was the reincarnation of his brother, and this theme is sometimes featured in his work.3. Salvador went to drawing school and the first exhibition of his work (a series of charcoal drawings) took place in 1917 (organised by his father).4. Dali’s mother died in 1921 of breast cancer. Dali was just sixteen and was severely affected by his mother’s passing.5. Dali moved to Madrid to study at the School of Fine Arts. He experimented with Cubism, and also gained a reputation for being a bit eccentric.6. Dali joined the Surrealist group in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris.He painted The Persistence of Memory, one his most famous works, in 1931. It features the classic surrealist image of the melting clock.7. Dali and his wife, Gala, moved to America to escape World War 2. They lived there for eight years.8. He returned to Paris after WW2 and began to experiment with other forms and different techniques. He used optical illusions and visual puns, and he became interested in mathematics and science – particularly the structure of DNA.9. Dali designed the Chupa Chups logo.10. Dali died of heart failure on 23rd January 1989. He was 84.11. Several images often appear in Dali’s surrealist paintings. These include: melting clocks, elephants, eggs, ants, snails and locusts.12. Salvador Dali produced more than 1500 paintings in his lifetime. He also created numerous drawings, illustrations, sculptures, short films, books and lithographs.

Interesting Facts About the Artist/Art