The Persistence of Memory
Dali and Surrealism

What do you see? Your first reaction.
What elements, Principles, Exaggeration, distortion, Metamorphosis?

What is Surrealism?
• Surrealism started as a literary and political movement but also had a profound effect on visual art such as painting, photography and film.

What is Surrealism?
• These artists were influenced by the idea of uncovering your subconscious which is basically using dreamlike imagery that challenges perceptions of reality.

Timeline
1914 - 1943

1914 marked the beginning of Surrealism with
De Chirico. The below painting is Mystery and
Melancholy of a Street.

1924-25 artists such as Miro, is an example of a style of drawing that was unique to surrealists called automatic drawing. This meant that the artist would basically try to draw without planning but it was later discovered that Miro did plan his works. This painting is titled Harlequin’s Carnival.

In 1931, Dali painted this painting,
The persistence of memory.

How does this painting reflect
Surrealism?

Possibly the most famous of all surrealist works is the below painting by Dali, it is a small painting that many people call simply the melting watches. The painting is approximately 9 x 13 inches and has an enormous amount of detail.
The painting shows a bleak, arid, decayed landscape populated by odd creatures which some say is the artist. The watches are said to represent time not only stopping but melting away. Perhaps in this work Dali’s fantasy, his dream, is to triumph once and for all over time.

What is the evidence of the analysis of Dali’s painting?

What is the evidence of the analysis of Dali’s painting?
• Melting Clock: The distortion is suppose to create something unfamiliar and that time has melted away.
• Insects: For Dali, insects were associated with decay.
• Olive Tree: It is a dead olive tree it is suppose to stress the dreamlike and desolate character of the landscape. Traditionally the olive tree is a symbol of peace, and plenty.

What is your final reaction to it?

Magritte
• What is your first reaction?
• Why is it surreal?
• Explain what you see?

Magritte, The Listening Room,
1952
Magritte liked to put together things that were common everyday objects and put them in unusual scales or places.