Salvador Dali became famous throughout the world thanks to his inimitable surreal style of painting. To the very famous works The author’s works include his personal self-portrait, where he depicted himself with a neck in the style of Raphael’s brush, “Flesh on the Stones,” “Enlightened Pleasures,” and “The Invisible Man.” However, Salvador Dali wrote “The Persistence of Memory”, attaching this work to one of his most profound theories. This happened at the junction of his stylistic rethinking, when the artist joined the trend of surrealism.

"The Persistence of Memory". Salvador Dali and his Freudian theory

The famous canvas was created in 1931, when the artist was in a state of heightened excitement from the theories of his idol - Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. IN general outline The idea of ​​the painting was to convey the artist’s attitude towards softness and hardness.

Being a very self-centered person, prone to flashes of uncontrollable inspiration and at the same time carefully understanding it from the point of view of psychoanalysis, Salvador Dali, like everyone else creative personalities, created his masterpiece under the influence of hot summer day. As the artist himself recalls, he was puzzled by the contemplation of how the heat melted. He had previously been attracted by the theme of transforming objects into different states what he tried to convey on canvas. The painting “The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali is a symbiosis of melted cheese with an olive tree standing alone against the backdrop of the mountains. By the way, it was this image that became the prototype of the soft watch.

Description of the picture

Almost all the works of that period are filled with abstract images of human faces hidden behind the forms of foreign objects. They seem to be hidden from view, but at the same time they are the main ones acting characters. This is how the surrealist tried to depict the subconscious in his works. Central figure In the painting “The Persistence of Memory” Salvador Dali made a face that is similar to his self-portrait.

The painting seemed to have absorbed all the significant stages in the artist’s life, and also reflected the inevitable future. You can notice that in the lower left corner of the canvas you can see a closed clock completely dotted with ants. Dali often resorted to depicting these insects, which for him were associated with death. The shape and color of the clock were based on the artist's memories of one in his childhood home that was broken. By the way, the mountains visible are nothing more than a piece from the landscape of the Spaniard’s homeland.

Salvador Dali portrayed “The Persistence of Memory” as somewhat devastated. It is clearly visible that all objects are separated from each other by the desert and are not self-sufficient. Art critics believe that with this the author tried to convey his spiritual emptiness, which weighed on him at that time. In fact, the idea was to convey human anguish over the passage of time and changes in memory. Time, according to Dali, is infinite, relative and in constant motion. Memory, on the contrary, is short-lived, but its stability should not be underestimated.

Secret images in the painting

Salvador Dali wrote “The Persistence of Memory” in a couple of hours and did not bother to explain to anyone what he wanted to say with this canvas. Many art historians are still building hypotheses around this iconic work of the master, noticing in it only individual symbols that the artist resorted to throughout his entire career.

Upon closer inspection, you can see that the clock hanging from the branch on the left is shaped like a tongue. The tree on the canvas is depicted as withered, which indicates the destructive aspect of time. This work is small in size, but is considered the most powerful of all that Salvador Dali wrote. “The Persistence of Memory” is certainly the most psychologically deep picture that reveals inner world author. Perhaps that is why he did not want to comment on it, leaving his admirers guessing.

The Persistence of the Memory of Salvador Dali, or, as is popularly known, the soft watch, is perhaps the master’s most popular painting. The only people who haven’t heard about it are those who are in an information vacuum in some village without a sewer system.

Well, let’s start our “story of one painting,” perhaps, with its description, so beloved by hippopotamus adherents. For those who don’t understand what I mean, conversations about hippopotamus are a blast, especially for those who have at least once communicated with an art critic. It's on YouTube, Google can help. But let's return to our Salvadoran sheep.

The same painting “The Persistence of Memory”, another name is “Soft Hours”. The genre of the picture is surrealism, your captain of obviousness is always ready to serve. Located in the New York Museum contemporary art. Oil. Year of creation 1931. Size - 100 by 330 cm.

More about Salvadorich and his paintings

The permanence of the memory of Salvador Dali, description of the painting.

The painting depicts the lifeless landscape of the notorious Port Lligat, where Salvador spent a significant part of his life. On foreground in the left corner there is a piece of something hard, on which, in fact, there is a pair of soft watches. One of the soft watches is dripping from a hard thing (either a rock, or hardened earth, or God knows what), another watch is located on the branch of the corpse of an olive tree that has long since died in the bosom. That red weird thing in the left corner is a solid pocket watch being eaten by ants.

In the middle of the composition one can see an amorphous mass with eyelashes, in which, however, one can easily see a self-portrait of Salvador Dali. A similar image is present in so many of Salvadorich’s paintings that it is quite difficult not to recognize it (for example, in) Soft Dali is wrapped soft watch like a blanket and, apparently, sleeps and has sweet dreams.

In the background settled the sea, coastal rocks and again a piece of some hard blue unknown garbage.

Salvador Dali Persistence of memory, analysis of paintings and the meaning of images.

My personal opinion is that the painting symbolizes exactly what is stated in its title - the constancy of memory, while time is fleeting and quickly “melts” and “flows down” like a soft clock or is devoured like a hard one. As they say, sometimes a banana is just a banana.

All that can be said with some degree of certainty is that Salvador painted the picture while Gala went to the cinema to have fun, and he stayed at home due to a migraine attack. The idea for the painting came to him some time after eating soft Camembert cheese and thinking about its “super softness.” All this is from Dali’s words and therefore closest to the truth. Although the master was still a talker and a hoaxer, and his words should be filtered through a fine, fine sieve.

Deep Meaning Syndrome

This is all below - the creation of shadowy geniuses from the Internet and I don’t know how to feel about it. I have not found any documentary evidence or statements from El Salvador on this matter, so do not take it at face value. But some assumptions are beautiful and have a place to be.

When creating the painting, Salvador may have been inspired by the common ancient saying “Everything flows, everything changes,” which is attributed to Heraclitus. Claims to some degree of authenticity, since Dali was familiar firsthand with the philosophy of the ancient thinker. Salvadorich even has a decoration (a necklace, if I'm not mistaken) called the Heraclitus fountain.

There is an opinion that the three clocks in the picture are the past, present and future. It is unlikely that this was really what El Salvador intended, but the idea is beautiful.

The hard clock is perhaps time in the physical sense, and the soft clock is the subjective time we perceive. More like the truth.

The dead olive is supposedly a symbol of ancient wisdom that has sunk into oblivion. This is, of course, interesting, but considering that at the beginning Dali simply painted a landscape, and the idea to include all these surreal images came to him much later, it seems very doubtful.

The sea in the picture is supposedly a symbol of immortality and eternity. It’s also beautiful, but I doubt it, since, again, the landscape was painted earlier and did not contain any deep and surreal ideas.

Among search lovers deep meaning there was an assumption that the painting The Persistence of Memory was created under the influence of ideas about the theory of relativity of Uncle Albert. In response to this, Dali replied in an interview that, in fact, he was inspired not by the theory of relativity, but by “the surreal feeling of Camembert cheese melting in the sun.” So it goes.

By the way, Camembert is a very good yum with a delicate texture and a slightly mushroom flavor. Although Dorblu is much tastier, in my opinion.

What does the sleeping Dali himself mean in the middle, wrapped in a clock? I have no idea, to be honest. Did you want to show your unity with time, with memory? Or the connection of time with sleep and death? Covered in the darkness of history.

One of the most famous paintings, written in the genre of surrealism, is “The Persistence of Memory.” Salvador Dali, the author of this painting, created it in just a few hours. The canvas is now in New York, at the Museum of Modern Art. This small painting, measuring only 24 by 33 centimeters, is the artist’s most discussed work.

Explanation of the name

Salvador Dali's painting "The Persistence of Memory" was painted in 1931 on a tapestry canvas self made. The idea of ​​​​creating this painting was connected with the fact that one day, while waiting for his wife Gala to return from the cinema, Salvador Dali painted an absolutely deserted landscape of the sea coast. Suddenly he saw on the table a piece of cheese, which he had eaten in the evening with friends, melting in the sun. The cheese melted and became softer and softer. Having thought about it and connecting the long passage of time with a melting piece of cheese, Dali began to fill the canvas with spreading hours. Salvador Dali called his work “The Persistence of Memory,” explaining the title by the fact that once you look at a painting, you will never forget it. Another name of the painting is “ Flowing hours" This name is associated with the content of the canvas itself, which Salvador Dali put into it.

“Persistence of Memory”: description of the painting

When you look at this canvas, your eye is immediately struck by the unusual placement and structure of the depicted objects. The picture shows the self-sufficiency of each of them and the general feeling of emptiness. There are many seemingly unrelated items here, but they all create a general impression. What did Salvador Dali depict in the painting “The Persistence of Memory”? The description of all items takes up quite a lot of space.

The atmosphere of the painting “The Persistence of Memory”

Salvador Dali painted the painting in brown tones. General shadow lies on the left side and middle of the picture, the sun falls on back And right side canvases. The picture seems to be filled with quiet horror and fear of such calm, and at the same time, a strange atmosphere fills “The Persistence of Memory.” Salvador Dali with this painting makes you think about the meaning of time in the life of every person. About whether time can stop? Can it adapt to each of us? Probably everyone should give themselves answers to these questions.

It is a known fact that the artist always left notes about his paintings in his diary. However, about the famous painting“The Persistence of Memory” Salvador Dali said nothing. The great artist initially understood that by painting this picture, he would make people think about the frailty of existence in this world.

The influence of canvas on a person

Salvador Dali's painting "The Persistence of Memory" was reviewed American psychologists, who came to the conclusion that this painting has a strong psychological effect on certain types human personalities. Many people, looking at this painting by Salvador Dali, described their feelings. Most of the people were immersed in nostalgia, the rest were trying to sort out the mixed emotions of general horror and thoughtfulness caused by the composition of the picture. The canvas conveys the feelings, thoughts, experiences and attitude towards the “softness and hardness” of the artist himself.

Of course, this picture is small in size, but it can be considered one of the greatest and most powerful psychological paintings by Salvador Dali. The painting “The Persistence of Memory” carries the greatness of the classics of surrealist painting.

“The fact that I myself, directly at the moment of drawing my paintings, do not know anything about their meaning does not at all mean that these images are devoid of any meaning.” Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali “The Persistence of Memory” (“Soft Hours”, “The Hardness of Memory”, “The Persistence of Memory”, “The Persistence of Memory”)

Year of creation 1931 Oil on canvas, 24*33 cm The painting is in the Museum of Modern Art of the City of New York.

The work of the great Spaniard Salvador Dali, like his life, always arouses genuine interest. His paintings, which are largely incomprehensible, attract attention with their originality and extravagance. Some remain forever fascinated by the search for “special meaning,” while others speak with undisguised disgust about the artist’s mental illness. But neither one nor the other can deny genius.

Now we are in the Museum of Modern Art of the City of New York in front of the painting by the great Dali “The Persistence of Memory”. Let's look at it.

The plot of the film unfolds against the backdrop of a deserted surreal landscape. In the distance we see the sea, bordered by golden mountains in the upper right corner of the picture. The viewer's main attention is drawn to the bluish pocket watch, which slowly melts in the sun. Some of them flow down a strange creature that lies on the lifeless ground in the center of the composition. In this creature one can recognize a shapeless human figure, melancholy with his eyes closed and his tongue hanging out. In the left corner of the picture in the foreground there is a table. There are two more clocks on this table - one of them is dripping from the edge of the table, the other, orange, rusty in color, retaining its original shape, is covered with ants. On far edge On the table rises a dry, broken tree, from whose branches the last bluish hours are flowing.

Yes, Dali's paintings are an attack on the normal psyche. What is the history of the painting? The work was created in 1931. Legend has it that while waiting for Gala, the artist’s wife, to return home, Dali painted a picture of a deserted beach and rocks, and the image of softening time was born to him when he saw a piece of Camembert cheese. The color of the bluish watch was supposedly chosen by the artist like this. On the façade of the house in Port Ligat, where Dali lived, there is a broken sundial. They are still pale blue, although the paint is gradually fading - exactly the same color as in the painting "The Persistence of Memory".

The painting was first exhibited in Paris, at the Galerie Pierre Collet, in 1931, where it was purchased for $250. In 1933, the painting was sold to Stanley Resor, who in 1934 donated the work to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Let's try to figure out, as far as possible, whether there is a certain hidden meaning. It is not known what looks like more confusion - the plots of the great Dali’s paintings themselves or attempts to interpret them. I suggest looking at how different people interpreted the painting.

The outstanding art historian Federico Zeri (F. Zeri) wrote in his research that Salvador Dali “in the language of allusions and symbols designated conscious and active memory in the form of a mechanical watch and ants scurrying around in them, and the unconscious - in the form of a soft clock that shows the indefinite time. "The Persistence of Memory" thus depicts the oscillations between the ups and downs of waking and sleeping states."

Edmund Swinglehurst (E. Swinglehurst) in the book “Salvador Dali. Exploring the Irrational” also tries to analyze “The Persistence of Memory”: “Next to the soft watch, Dali depicted a hard pocket watch covered with ants, as a sign that time can move in different ways: either flow smoothly or be corroded by corruption, which, according to Dali , meant decomposition, symbolized here by the bustle of insatiable ants.” According to Swinglehurst, "The Persistence of Memory" became a symbol modern concept relativity of time. Another researcher of the genius’s work, Gilles Neret, in his book “Dali,” spoke very succinctly about “The Persistence of Memory”: “The famous “soft clock” is inspired by the image of Camembert cheese melting in the sun.”

However, it is known that almost every work of Salvador Dali has a pronounced sexual overtones. Famous writer 20th century George Orwell wrote that Salvador Dali “is equipped with such a complete and excellent set of perversions that anyone can envy him.” In this regard, interesting conclusions are made by our contemporary, an adherent of classical psychoanalysis, Igor Poperechny. Was it really only the “metaphor of time flexibility” that was put on display for everyone to see? It is full of uncertainty and lack of intrigue, which is extremely unusual for Dali.

In his work “The Mind Games of Salvador Dali,” Igor Poperechny came to the conclusion that the “set of perversions” that Orwell spoke of is present in all the works of the great Spaniard. During the analysis of the entire work of the Genius, certain groups of symbols were identified, which, when appropriately arranged in the picture, determine its semantic content. There are several such symbols in The Persistence of Memory. These are spreading watches and a face “flattened” with pleasure, ants and flies depicted on dials that show strictly 6 o’clock.

Analyzing each of the groups of symbols, their location in the paintings, taking into account the traditions of the meanings of the symbols, the researcher came to the conclusion that the secret of Salvador Dali lies in the denial of the death of his mother and the incestuous desire for her.

Living in an illusion artificially created by himself, Salvador Dali lived for 68 years after the death of his mother in anticipation of a miracle - her appearance in this world. One of the main ideas of numerous paintings of the genius was the idea of ​​​​the mother being in a lethargic sleep. A hint at Sopor ants became ubiquitous and were fed to people in this condition in ancient Moroccan medicine. According to Igor Poperechny, in many of Dali’s paintings he depicts his mother with symbols: in the form of domestic animals, birds, as well as mountains, rocks or stones. In the painting that we are now studying, at first you may not notice a small rock on which a shapeless creature is spreading, which is a kind of self-portrait of Dali...

The soft clock in the picture shows the same time - 6 o'clock. Judging by the bright colors of the landscape, it is morning, because in Catalonia, Dali’s homeland, night does not come at 6 o’clock. What worries a man at six in the morning? After what morning sensations did Dali wake up “completely broken,” as Dali himself mentioned in his book “The Diary of a Genius”? Why is there a fly sitting on the soft clock, in Dali’s symbolism - a sign of vice and spiritual decay?

Based on all this, the researcher comes to the conclusion that the painting records the time when Dali’s face experiences perverse pleasure, indulging in “moral decay.”

These are some points of view on the hidden meaning of Dali's painting. You just have to decide which interpretation you like best.

Salvador Dali's painting "The Persistence of Memory" is perhaps the most famous of the artist's works. The softness of a hanging and dripping clock is one of the most unusual images ever used in painting. What did Dali want to say by this? And did you even want to? We can only guess. We only have to acknowledge Dali’s victory, won with the words: “Surrealism is me!”

This concludes the tour. Please ask questions.

Salvador Dali. The Persistence of Memory. 1931 24x33 cm. Museum of Modern Art, New York (MOMA)

The melting clock is a very recognizable image of Dali. Even more recognizable than an egg or a nose with lips.

Remembering Dali, we willy-nilly think about the painting “The Persistence of Memory”.

What is the secret of such a success of the film? Why did she become business card artist?

Let's try to figure it out. And at the same time we will carefully consider all the details.

“The Persistence of Memory” – something to think about

Many of Salvador Dali's works are unique. Due to an unusual combination of parts. This encourages the viewer to ask questions. What's all this for? What did the artist want to say?

“The Persistence of Memory” is no exception. It immediately provokes a person to think. Because the image of the current clock is very catchy.

But it’s not just the watch that makes you think. The whole picture is saturated with many contradictions.

Let's start with color. There are many brown shades in the picture. They are hot, which adds to the deserted feeling.

But this hot space is diluted with cold blue. These are watch dials, the sea and the surface of a huge mirror.

Salvador Dali. Persistence of memory (fragment with dry wood). 1931 Museum of Modern Art, New York

The curvature of the dials and dry tree branches are in clear contrast with the straight lines of the table and mirror.

We also see a contrast between real and unreal things. Dry wood is real, but a clock melting on it is not. The sea in the distance is real. But you can hardly find a mirror the size of it in our world.

Such a mixture of everything and everyone leads to different thoughts. I also think about the variability of the world. And about the fact that time does not come, but goes. And about the proximity of reality and sleep in our lives.

Everyone will think about it, even if they know nothing about Dali’s work.

Dali's interpretation

Dali himself commented little on his masterpiece. He just said that the image of the melting clock was inspired by cheese spreading in the sun. And when painting the picture, he thought about the teachings of Heraclitus.

This ancient thinker said that everything in the world is changeable and has a dual nature. Well, there is more than enough duality in The Constancy of Time.

But why did the artist name his painting exactly that? Maybe because he believed in the constancy of memory. The fact is that only the memory of certain events and people can be preserved, despite the passage of time.

But we don't know the exact answer. The beauty of this masterpiece lies precisely in this. You can struggle with the riddles of the painting for as long as you like, but still not find all the answers.

Test yourself: take the online test

On that day in July 1931, Dali had an interesting image of a melting clock in his head. But all the other images had already been used by him in other works. They migrated to “The Persistence of Memory”.

Maybe that’s why the film is so successful. Because this is a collection of the artist’s most successful images.

Dali even drew his favorite egg. Although somewhere in the background.

Salvador Dali. Persistence of memory (fragment). 1931 Museum of Modern Art, New York

Of course, in “Geopolitical Child” it is a close-up. But in both cases, the egg carries the same symbolism - change, the birth of something new. Again according to Heraclitus.

Salvador Dali. Geopolitical child. 1943 Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

In the same fragment of “The Persistence of Memory” there is a close-up of the mountains. This is Cape Creus near his hometown of Figueres. Dali loved to transfer memories from childhood into his paintings. So this landscape, familiar to him from birth, wanders from painting to painting.

Self-portrait of Dali

Of course, a strange creature still catches your eye. It, like a watch, is fluid and formless. This is a self-portrait of Dali.

We see a closed eye with huge eyelashes. Sticking out a long and thick tongue. He is clearly unconscious or not feeling well. Of course, in such heat that even metal melts.

Salvador Dali. Persistence of memory (detail with self-portrait). 1931 Museum of Modern Art, New York

Is this a metaphor for lost time? Or a human shell that has lived its life meaninglessly?

Personally, I associate this head with Michelangelo’s self-portrait from the fresco “ Last Judgment" The master portrayed himself in a unique way. In the form of deflated skin.

Take similar image– quite in the spirit of Dali. After all, his work was distinguished by frankness, a desire to show all his fears and desires. The image of a man with his skin flayed off suited him well.

Michelangelo. Last Judgment. Fragment. 1537-1541 Sistine Chapel, Vatican

In general, such a self-portrait is a frequent occurrence in Dali’s paintings. Close-up we see him on the canvas “The Great Masturbator”.

Salvador Dali. Great masturbator. 1929 Reina Sofía Art Center, Madrid

And now we can conclude about another secret to the success of the film. All the pictures given for comparison have one feature. Like many other works of Dali.

Spicy details

There is a lot of sexual overtones in Dali's works. You can’t just show them to an audience under 16. And you can’t depict them on posters either. Otherwise they will be accused of insulting the feelings of passers-by. How it happened with reproductions.

But “The Persistence of Memory” is quite innocent. Replicate as much as you want. And show it in art classes in schools. And print on mugs with T-shirts.

It’s hard not to pay attention to insects. There is a fly sitting on one dial. There are ants on the upside down red clock.

Salvador Dali. Persistence of memory (detail). 1931 Museum of Modern Art, New York

Ants are also frequent guests in the master’s paintings. We see them on the same “Masturbator”. They swarm on the locusts and in the mouth area.

Salvador Dali. The Great Masturbator (fragment). 1929 Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Dali associated ants with decay and death after an extremely unpleasant incident in childhood. One day he saw ants devouring a corpse bat.

This is precisely why the artist depicted them on the clock. Like time wasters. The fly is depicted most likely with the same meaning. This is a reminder to people that time is running out and never comes back.

Summarize

So what is the secret to the success of The Persistence of Memory? Personally, I found 5 explanations for this phenomenon:

– A very memorable image of a melting clock.

– The picture makes you think. Even if you don’t know much about Dali’s work.

– The film contains all the most interesting images artist (egg, self-portrait, insects). This is not counting the watch itself.

– The picture is devoid of sexual connotations. It can be shown to any person on this Earth. Even the smallest one.

– All the symbols of the picture have not been fully deciphered. And we can guess about them endlessly. This is the power of all masterpieces.