The Persistence of Memory

Biography: Salvador Dali was born in 1904 and was not limited to Surrealism. He got his start as a Cubist and toiled with oils, sculptures, watercolor, graphics and even movies. He was a known self-promoter and worked with Alfred Hitchcock in a dream sequence in the film Spellbound. He was also the first guest on the talk show Phil Donahue, yes that was before Oprah! Dali described his paintings as "hand-painted dream photographs". Although he died in 1989, he left his mark as an inspriational surrealist in the art world.

Description: The painting to me reflects the countless hours we spend each day contimplating our desisions. Dali reflects this with melting time or wasted time in our effort.

Analysis: Dali was a master at creating illusion on a canvas. He used shape and line to draw the viewer to various parts of the composition. There is an overall theme to this painting, with the melting clocks but one's eye is moved upward to the dream like background as well. The dark tones of the fore-ground and contrast highlights the images well. Dali is very aware of perspective and uses the box to add depth and a three dimensional view.

Judgement: I think of this painting as one of his best. It combines so many elements and captures the whole idea of the Surrealism movement. The layering and depth of field are awesome and I like the fact that all of his paintings, this one in particular, makes one think as they view it.