Analysis Of The Persistence Of Memory By Salvador Dai

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Introduction
As one of the prolific artists from the Surrealism movement, Salvador Dalí was born in Figueres, Spain in 1904. From a young age, Dalí showed promise in art. As an attendee of the Madrid Academy of Fine Arts, he was classically trained in the works of Raphael, Rembrandt and Vermeer, which influenced his work with classical realism. In his later years, he eventually moved away from traditional themes towards the experimental, dream-like world of Surrealism. Artistically, he was also influenced by his Spanish predecessors such as Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro. After producing one of his most well-known pieces ‘The Persistence of Memory’ in 1931, his name was subsequently introduced to American audiences, who were captivated by the …show more content…

While this effect may not be what painters of previous artistic movements may consider qualities worthy of evoking in their pieces, Dalí’s work finds highest praise within the Surrealist movement. In comparison to other works produced during that period, ‘The Persistence of Memory’ was considerably small, measuring 24.1 x 33 cm. To achieve a meticulous level of detail without breaking up the brushmarks, Dalí worked on the canvas with a jeweller’s glass and sable brushes (Shane, 2012:36). Using saturated colours such as brown, blue, yellow and orange, Dalí manages to create a photo-realistic scenery, where the effect of natural light is achieved through subtle gradations of colour. This was made possible with oil paint, which expresses contrasting blends and creates a lustrous appearance of depth when light refracts through its …show more content…

As a sociology major, the construction of reality is an oft-discussed theory. It posits that reality is socially constructed, with individuals responsible for creating and maintaining meanings behind widely-spread practices and traditions (Berger, 1966). To take this further, the social construction of what we deem as rational behaviour, may not always be as rational as we think it is. The dreamscape that Dalí depicts, indicates that the imaginary or irrational are merely two sides of the same coin. The fluidity in meaning holds a moral lesson for me. If our experienced realities are truly subjective, why should one be judgmental and dismiss others on how they should be experiencing theirs? Instead of casting judgment on others, we could, as Dalí had done in his life, embrace the bizarre as a subjective manifestation of

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