"The Persistence of memory" by Salvador Dali

“The persistence of memory” Salvador Dalí

Sergio Cob Alvaro Diego Miramontes Otero

Table of contents 1. Introduction a. Dalí’s biography b. Reasons why we chose that painting 2. The persistence of memory a. Description b. Basic facts c. Formal qualities d. Style e. Interpretation f. Context g. Judgement 3. The story behind it 4. Conclusion 5. Bibliography

1.Introduction In this project we are going to analyze a painting, “The persistence of memory”. Salvador Dali painted it in 1931. Now the painting is in the Moma (New York) a museum of modern art.

1.1.Dali’s biography Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech is a spanish painter. He was born in Girona in 1904 and he died in Púbol in 1989.

Dalí painted his first picture when he was twelve years old. Dalí went to study Fine arts to Madrid, but he was expelled in 1926.

He travelled to Paris in 1927, where he met Pablo Picasso and Gala, his love.

Dalí painted The persistence of memory in 1931.

Dalí and Gala went to United States, where they lived for eight years, and afterwards later they returned to Cataluña.

1.2.Reasons why we chose that painting We chose this painting because we think that it is an interesting and beautiful picture because the clocks called our attention.

2.The persistence of memory a.Description This painting is one of the most famous by Dalí. The first things that you can see are four watches. ​ These watches are melting because it is hot.

Two of the watches are on a table and one of them is closed. This watch is orange, it has a lot of ants over its cover and it is the only watch that isn’t melting. The other watch is gold and blue. It has a blowfly, and the watch is falling down. There are another watch on the ground. It has a drawing of a face under it. The last watch is hanging on the tree that is ​ on the table, and it is alone.

The foreground is dark and the background is light. In the background there is a desert with a big lake.

b.Basic facts The artist of this painting is Salvador Dalí, a famous spanish painter. The original title of the painting is “The persistence of memory”. The painting was inspired by pieces of cheese melting in the sun.

c.Formal qualities “The persistence of memory” is made of oil on a canvas. It has a great combination of colours and a great contrast between the darkness of the foreground and the light of the background. This painting is full of unreal things typical of the surrealism.

d.Style This painting is surrealist because Dalí paints objects that are impossible in the real life. The objects that Dalí paints are so real that the painting looks like an image. He stands out some objects in his paintings, in The persistence of memory the first objects that appeal to your attention are the watches.

e.Interpretation The watches of this painting represent pieces of Camembert cheese melting under the sun. The landscape was inspired in the Creus cape. The interpretation of the painting is that time fades quickly​ .

f.Context The persistence of memory was painted in Portlligat, a place in Spain, in 1931.

This painting is similar to other paintings by Dalí.

g.Judgement We think that it is a good painting because it is beautiful because Dalí contrasted the darkness of the foreground and the light of the background and the watches are the first element that appeals to your attention.

3.The story behind it The story of the persistence of memory is that Dalí inspired in pieces of Camembert cheese melting under the sun in the Creus cape. We think that Dalí paints the watches because time fades so fast and we should make the most of our time.

4.Conclusion We think that it is an interesting project because we didn’t know much about art but now we can analyse paintings. During this project we learn some vocabulary and a lot of things about the painting.

5.Bibliography

Cover Page: ​ http://dokity.com/the­persistence­of­memory­parody.html http://www.saberespractico.com/estudios/cultura­general/quien­fue­salvador­dali­ que­hizo­resumen/ http://marisolroman.com/2011/09/06/la­persistencia­de­la­memoria­1931/ http://sdelbiombo.blogia.com/2013/042901­la­persistencia­de­la­memoria.­dali.­a nalisis­y­comentario­.php http://museums.eu/article/details/106915/daily­art­story­salvador­dal­and­the­sac red­moustache http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/d/dali.htm https://structureofnews.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/the­persistence­of­data/