Salvador Dali (1904-198) was a Spanish artist considered to be the icon of the Surrealist movement. Probably the most universally famous and highly regarded of the artists of the twentieth century, Salvador Dali was born in the town of Figueres, in Catalonia, Spain where his father held the position of notary public. Although well known as a painter of the Surrealist Movement, he was also a gifted photographer and film maker.
As a child, Dali was encouraged in his art by his family and in particular a friend of his father’s, a lawyer named Pepito Pichot, whose brother Ramon was an associate of Picasso in Paris (Shanes 2006). Dali was influenced by Ramon’s works which hung in the Pichot household and were examples of the impressionist painting and pointillism. In 1917, Pichot encouraged Dali’s father to enroll Dali in drawing lessons with Professor Juan Nuñez of the Municipal School of Drawing in Figueres, where he remained for two years. Dali later commented that he had learned a great deal from Professor Nuñez (Shanes 2006). In 1918, Dali exhibited his first works at an exhibition held at the municipal theatre in Figueres, in conjunction with two other artists. His work was critically acclaimed and the critic predicted that Dali would become a great artist.
In 1922, Dali attended the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid but was suspended in 1923 for inciting a student rebellion against the academy’s authorities. Although allowed to re-enter the Academy in 1925, he was subsequently expelled in 1926 (Shanes 2006). Thereafter he moved to Paris, France where he frequented the Café Cyrano, home to the Parisian surrealist movement which he joined in 1929, after meeting Joan Miro and being influenced by his metaphysical style (Shanes 2006). Influenced by the surrealists, Dali’s style eventually emerged as the unusual blend of almost photo-like realism and dream-influenced fantasy for which he is renowned.
In 1926, Dali paid a visit to the Parisian studio of Pablo Picasso, a fellow Spaniard. Dali had for some time been using Picasso-influenced elements in his own work, and was particularly influenced by Picasso’s Blue and Rose periods, where his figures became more stylized. Dali was also fascinated by the works of Picasso’s Cubist period which was characterized by flat planes, elongated figures, bright colors and silhouettes. All of these elements subsequently appeared in Dali’s paintings (Shanes 2006).
The architype of the surrealist movement, Dali’s works have influenced the perception of the common man’s idea of art and disrupted his preconceived notions of art which were often based on the “pretty” art of earlier movements. Although often misunderstood and sometimes described as an eccentric showman who paintings masqueraded as art his is now regarded as the exemplar of the Surrealist (Rile, 2015).
The dreamlike quality of many of Dali’s works is his attempts to express his thoughts and emotions on canvas. As his skills became honed over the years, this quality of his paintings has improved and his attention to detail has increased. Some of his paintings however are more nightmarish than dreamlike such as, “The Persistence of Memory” and “Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War”. “The Persistence of Memory”, arguably his most famous work, has almost a photographic quality and is almost realistic but for the clocks in the painting which are melting in the sun (Ross 2003). Dali said that this painting was an attempt to portray the passing of time as it appeared to occur in dreams and that he was inspired to paint the clocks in such a way, by watching Brie cheese melt in the heat.
In the painting, “Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War”, a naked stylized female figure become a part of another figure whose battered hand is compressing a single female breast (Greely 2006). This painting is a depiction of the Spanish Civil War where the inhabitants of Spain fought against themselves, just as the figure in the painting is fighting against itself. Dali’s homage to the Spanish people and to their ability to endure and survive can be seen in the melting boiled beans, which are the food of poor people in Spain. When the painting is view for the first time, it allows us to compare our personal nightmares with his portrayal of the bizarre images and creatures he has depicted, and incites us to delve further into the meaning of his works.
Salvador Dali “Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War” 1936
Dali juxtaposes the mundane with the incomprehensible which confuses the view and brings forth conflicting emotions, while we attempt to understand the meaning behind his paintings. Severe conflict with our sense of the normal occurs when we see Dali’s portrayal of everyday objects in bizarre circumstances (Ruiz 2010). These paintings are meant to shock and disturb us and to create the conflicting emotions of fascination, excitement, disgust and horror.
“The Persistence of Memory” 1931
Salvador Dali “The Persistence of Memory” 1931
This iconic painting, exhibited in the New York Museum of Modern Art, measures 9 ½inches by 13 inches and is a depiction of a surrealist landscape painted in oils an oil painting depicting a surrealist landscape. It is held by the New York Museum of Modern Art. The background of the painting is divided into thirds, the top one of which is painted in blues to represent the sky and the sea and in yellows to represent either the dawning of day, or the fading of light on the horizon. However it could also be said that Dali’s use of yellows was used to depict extreme heat emanating from the parched landscape. On the right of this portion of the painting is depicted an imposing headland jutting out into the sea. This is painted in yellows and ochres and reflects the yellows in the skyline. An elevated rectangular plane is depicted on the left of the painting, at the point where the water meets the land. Together, this elevated object and the headland occupy about two thirds of this portion of the painting. Rocks or similar small identical objects are scattered in front of both the headland and the plane.
A featureless, dark and foreboding landscape painted in browns, is the feature of the remainder of the painting’s background. A large, bricklike object is featured on the left foreground of the painting. A bare tree branch rests on this object and from it hangs a pocket watch which is melting in the heat. A similar pocket watch, almost identical in shape and colour, can be seen melting over the edge of the bricklike structure. In the extreme left foreground, a third watch can also be seen resting on the brick. This watch however does not appear to be melting like the first two.
A pale coloured figure similar to a marine mammal (perhaps a dolphin) dominates the central foreground. The pale colour of the figure contrasts strongly against the dark ground on which it lies. The figure possesses enormous exaggerated eyelashes which convey a feeling of gentleness and vulnerability. Another similarly sized and coloured melting pocket watch can be found draped over the back of this figure. The figure resembles a beached whale or dolphin either asleep or dead, which is suggested by the fact that the eyes of the creature are closed. However the long eyelashes suggest that it is probably asleep and dreaming or that it is an object that can only be conjured up by one’s imagination or in a dream.
Dali’s use of shape, texture, colour and line add dimension to what is inherently a simple painting. In delineating the strong elements of the painting – the headland, the tree branch and the pocket watches – Dali uses strong bold lines. However, in the central element of the painting, the dolphin-like figure in the foreground, his approach to line is completely different. Here he uses delicate lines and brushwork, especially in depicting the eyelashes on the figure. There is a notable contrast between the strident forms of the structural elements of the painting – the headland, the elevated plane, the bricklike structure – and the fluidity of the pocket watches and the central figure. The headland and the pocket watches convey an almost photographic-like feel.
Dali’s ability to convey feelings of foreboding and engender fear in this painting is conveyed by his use of shadow. The surreal effect created by these shadows which appear only in the foreground of the painting is in direct contrast to the somewhat imposing sunlit background.
Dali uses various techniques to foster in the viewer a sense of unreality and the desire to delve further into the meaning of his paintings. Although the melting watches are the focus of the painting, the mysterious, understated central figure is the one that engenders the most curiosity. As we focus our attention on the melting watches, we intermittently and briefly switch our focus to this mysterious figure, almost as though we were trying to capture a sense of movement out of the corner of our eye. Whilst we know in reality that the figure cannot move, we tend to sense a feeling of movement without being able to actually catch an object in motion. While our attention is solidly focused on the melting watches, every now and then out attention flits to this mysterious figure which portrays a sense of seeing movement out of the corner of one’s eye. Rationally we know that the figure cannot move, but all the same we tend to experience a feeling of movement when we are not quite focusing on it (Ruiz 2010.
Another intriguing element of this painting is that there appears to be no source of heat which would cause the watches to melt. The only source of heat visible in the painting is that of the light on the horizon and that is a gentle source of light and not of the fierce heat which would be required to melt the watches (Ross 2003).
Feelings of “good” and “bad” in the painting are created by Dali’s use of light and dark. A sense of doom engendered by the melting watches and the dark foreground is in juxtaposition to the central figure and the perspective of the platform and the bricks which lead our eye to light arising from the centre of the horizon, symbolizing a bright and hopeful future. The illusion of going on a journey to a better place is created by strong changes of scenery. This journey is hampered however by uncertainty, which is created by the lack of knowledge of the origins of the source of heat which is causing the watches to melt.
In his paintings, Dali uses golden light to highlight the strange and unusual, but in the case of “The Persistence of Memory” he does the opposite: he uses light to illuminate the only “normal” feature of the painting – that of the headland. This may be because to Dali, they are reminiscent of his home in Catalonia where he grew up, and in Dali’s mind, they persist in his memory, as underlined by the title of his painting.
The two worlds of reality and imagination clash violently in Dali’s paintings. These clashes are vividly displayed in this painting where the reality of the cliffs is juxtaposed against the unreality of the melting watches, but they are joined together by the foreground figure, which can be only interpreted by the viewer’s personal thoughts and beliefs as to what the figure is meant to represent, joined together by the observer’s personal interpretation of what the unknown figure on the beach is meant to represent (Shanes 2006).
Dali’s propensity for deserted landscapes are his way of allowing a story to be told, not in real life, but as if occurring in the imagination or in a dream. The different symbols which he uses are used to create a feeling of surrealism, as they allow the viewer to interpret his paintings in a personal way and to give his own meaning as to what the painting is meant to depict. Dali gives us the sense that he exists in a world conjured up by his dreams and that additional things are occurring outside the borders of this painting, which the viewer can only imagine.
Salvador Dali “The Great Masturbator” 1929
Salvador Dali “The Temptation of St Anthony” 1946
Salvador Dali “The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus” 1959
“The Persistence of Memory” is a very apt title for this painting. When, after studying the techniques and symbolism used to create this painting, we come to realize that Dali is not only depicting a landscape with melting watches but rather is putting on canvas the workings of his mind, his dreams and memories, almost as a self-portrait. This painting mentally disrupts our peace of mind. It creates chaos and confusion to our thinking and it makes us feel uneasy. While conveying a sense of impending danger, it also allows us to find safety in the normality of the background where we are able to see familiar objects portrayed as we expect them to be. If Dali’s intention was to jar our senses, he achieves this brilliantly with “The Persistence of Memory”.
References
Greeley, R.A. (2006). Surrealism and the Spanish Civil War. Yale University Press, 51-65.
Rile, R. (2015). Dali Miami - Curator Statement. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from Robin Rile Fine Art: http://robinrile.com/dali-miami-curator-statement/
Ross, M.E. (2003). Salvador Dali and the Surrealists: Their Lives and Ideas, 21 Activities. Chicago Review Press, 57-64.
Ruiz, C. (2010). Salvador Dalí and science, beyond mere curiosity. Centre for Dalinian Studies, 1-11.
Shanes, E. (2006). The Life and Masterworks of Salvador Dalí. Parkstone International Publishing, 19-30.
