Persistence of Memory

Dali: Persistence of Memory (1931) - Museum of Modern Art, New York

The well-known surrealist piece introduced the image of the soft melting pocket watch. It epitomizes Dal?'s theory of "softness" and "hardness", which was central to his thinking at the time. This interpretation suggests that Dal? was incorporating an understanding of the world introduced by Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. The figure in the middle of the picture can be read as a "fading" creature, one that often appears in dreams where the dreamer cannot pinpoint the creature's exact form and composition.