Shawn Redman
Molly Zimmer
Painting 1
September 25,2017
SALVADOR DALI
The Persistence of Memory
24 cm × 33 cm Oil on canvas 1931
Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire
47 cm × 66 cm Oil on canvas 1940
The Sacrament of the Last Supper
267 cm × 166.7 cm Oil on canvas 1955
Apparition of a Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach
114.8 cm × 143.8 cm Oil on canvas 1938
Metamorphosis of Narcissus
51.2 cm × 78.1 cm Oil on canvas 1937
Dalí, born to Barcelona Spain in 1904 was a futuristic artist and became involved in an era and movement known as surrealism. Many artist proudly wore this label of surrealism such as Miro or Magritte but more well- known was a quirky and witty soul that was a bit of a recluse. Dalí was influenced through many things and people, for example, Sigmund Freud’s writings on the erotic significance of subconscious imagery caught the attention of a young Salvador as is evident in a majority of his work.
The 1930’s started to push many surrealist artists away from its brand but Salvador found a way to put forth his “Paranoiac- Critical method” which was described as a way the he managed to possess the power to look at one object but “see” another. Through this, he empowered the era and befriended many other well- known artists such as Pablo Picasso.
In 1931, Dalí painted one of his most famous works, The Persistence of Memory, which introduced a surrealistic image of soft, melting pocket watches. The general interpretation of the work is that the soft watches are a rejection of the assumption that time is rigid or deterministic. This idea is supported by other images in the work, such as the wide expanding landscape, and the other limp watches, shown being devoured by ants.
“Have no fear of
perfection, you’ll never reach it”
― Salvador Dalí
“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.”
― Salvador Dalí
WORKS CITED
Caws, M. (2008). Salvador Dali. London: Reaktion Books.
Dali, S. (1993). The Secret Life of Salvador Dali. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications.
I appreciate that Dali acknowledges a gap between effort and the idea of perfection. There's a certain raw beauty in painting that is found when you don't have it all right, but you put hard work and heart into it.
ReplyDeleteI think Salvador Dali is really interesting as an artist. I really love his famous painting of the melting watch.I also agree with the quote.
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