The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

Highly recognizable, often spoofed, The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí is a painting that tends to be a universal symbol of Surrealist or Modern Art. In the work, clocks appear to melt over branches and rigid surfaces, and ants devour a pocket watch while a vague face hovers in the background. The background itself shows the rocky landscape of Port Lligat in Dalí’s native Catalonia, Spain. The painting is like a well-crafted hallucination, with the fascinating yet confusing details of a dream.

Since The Persistence of Memory was finished in 1931, many interpretations of its symbolism and components have been made. The face beyond is said to be Dalí himself, the ants may represent destruction or decay, the rocks can be viewed as eternity or reality, and the melting clocks perhaps show that regimented time is an artificial concept that cannot withstand the true power of the universe beyond. The actual painting is only about 10 x 13 inches, intensely colored, one of Dalí’s self-described “hand-painted dream photographs.”