
Salvador Dali, a Spanish surrealist artist, painted one of his most popular paintings in 1931, The Persistence of Memory. It is an example of surrealist art, which suggests that reality itself is a dream. This painting is unique because Dali never provided his interpretation of its meaning to the public. Research has shown that many different interpretations exist. Dali had a dream that he would droop clocks in a desert and he achieved that dream successfully. Dali was inspired by his dreams to the point that he would place a metal plate on the floor of his bedroom and put a key in one of his hands when he went to sleep. When he finally fell asleep, his hand would completely relax making the key hit the plate, ultimately waking him from his deep sleep. The purpose of this essay is to explain and understand the interpretation and analysis of Dali’s “unsolved” painting. 

The landscape of the painting was based on the cliffs of his home region of Catalonia, Spain. We can interpret the fact that sometimes things that are portrayed as bulky and meaningful come to a point where they fade away and somehow become unusable. The ants and several melting pocket clocks are recognizable images that Dalí placed in different sections of the paintings. The clocks resemble that of overcooked cheese or wax from a lit candle. There is a part of the painting that is fulfilled with sunlight, while the other part is concealed in the darkness. We also have a thoroughly painted ocean for the backdrop. We can notice the ants finding a structured home in the middle of an orange pocket watch in the lower left-hand corner. This could represent death or disappearance in Dali’s past life. You may also notice the deformed object composed of a nose and eye, which was drawn from Dalí’s imagination. Many researchers believe it is Dali’s face in the profile. Dali could be watching over himself from the painting to see all the work he has achieved. Some people also believe to see a female like structure, which could represent female sexuality or an important female figure in Dali’s life. 

The clocks are the main focus in this painting, which illustrates that the main theme is time. Human beings fundamentally deal with time as a concept in their everyday lives, such as setting a time frame to accomplish important goals or milestones. The origins of stress and anxiety result from time. We often ask ourselves questions like, “Have I accomplished all that is necessary today?” We never know if we have enough time to finish the work we are given in order to be successful. Maybe it comes from people not knowing what lies in their future, such as marriage or having children. This is why it is important to understand that our time on this earth is finite. Understanding the reality of death may change our attitudes and could have been the reason Dali painted slowly melted clocks hanging off of objects. Some interpretations are more immense than the others, who just remain elusive. 

The vibrancy of the colors in this painting is evident, while the brush marks are barely noticeable. On the left hand side of the piece we notice a shadow from the branch with pocket watches placed underneath. The shadows grow increasingly larger throughout the painting. The branch is resting on a dark brown object, which eventually goes off the canvas. The ground in The Persistence of Memory progressively grows from dark brown to black when scanning your eyes left to right. The source of light could either be from a sunset or sunrise in the midst of the painting. The light hits the cliffs in the background so perfectly that it bounces off and reflects in the water directly below at an angle. When you fix your eyes to look directly in the center of the painting, you notice that there is nothing ahead of you except water. On the left of the painting, right above the water, Dali placed a rectangular platform that is painted with light blue colors and dark brown edges. Placed in front of the painting and towards the back of the painting are two pebbles that are placed on the ground.

We will never understand the true meaning behind The Persistence of Memory, but we know that creative interpretation is helpful. If you can discover the historical and artistic background of Dali himself, it can lead you to new ways of interpreting his paintings. The Persistence of Memory is probably a combination of all the meanings one can truly imagine and condense together. Dali wanted his audience to work to understand the true meaning of this painting. Every time I look at this painting, I develop a whole new meaning for time. 
