“Soft Self-Portrait With Grilled Bacon,” 1941 This interpretation is fitting, as Dalí is known for both his unconventional self-portrayals, like Soft Self-Portrait With Grilled Bacon, and his one-of-a-kind depictions of not-quite-human faces, like the figure in his painting, Sleep. This face-like figure is thought to be a self-portrait of the artist. Perhaps the most perplexing part of the scene is an anthropomorphic mass sprawled on the ground.

These fascinating timepieces appear to have lost their integrity, as they're limply draped over a tree branch or sliding off of an ambiguous platform. A single pocket watch, which remains closed, retains its structure, though an army of ants ominously cover its case. While the actual inspiration behind the scene is up for debate (art historians recall Einstein's theory Dalí comically mentioned Camembert cheese), the odd iconography of the painting is characteristic of the Surrealist movement.Ī set of melting clocks-or “soft watches,” as many Surrealists have called them-are scattered across the composition. Though set in a realistically-rendered landscape, The Persistence of Memory features bizarre subject matter evocative of a dream. This method was particularly instrumental in the creation of Dalí's “hand-painted dream photographs,” a collection of works that are stylistically rooted in realism yet unrealistic in their subject matter.

When Dalí painted The Persistence of Memory, his artistic practice was guided by the peculiar “paranoiac-critical method.” Developed by the artist in 1930, the technique relies on self-induced paranoia and hallucinations to facilitate a work of art. “Surrealism is destructive,” he explained, “but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.” Salvador Dalí and Man Ray in Paris, 1934 (Photo: Carl Van Vechten / Library of Congress)Īs a key figure of the movement, Salvador Dalí delved deep into this artistic mindset, which he viewed as revolutionary and liberating.

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