What Is The Persistence Of Memory Distinctively Visual

2369 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of memory persistence by salvador dali

The Persistence of Memory is a surreal landscape created in 1931 by the famous Spanish artist, Salvador Dali. This oil painting measures 9 1/2 x 13 inches, or 24.1 x 33 cm and is on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA). It has been displayed in galleries worldwide and is a symbol of Dali's work.

The Persistence of Memory contains a light blue horizon, which slowly fades downward from blue to yellow across the top quarter of the painting. Under the skyline sits a body of water, or what looks to be a large lake or a reflecting pool. The body of water traces the skyline until it interacts with neighboring mountains to the right. In front of the mountains there is lone pebble.

On the left close to the water, Dali places a reflective, …show more content…

The emphasis of the piece are the four melting clocks scattered throughout the painting. Some may argue that it's his mysterious white figure that draws more attention to the work. The painting carries a strong sense of movement as well. The melting clocks create an optical illusion, giving the viewer the impression that they are actually dripping metal. The ant colony on the bronze watch also creates a sense of motion as they scatter on its surface. The cracked and crumbling mountains add to this movement too, while the water below and the white figure stay completely still. The use of shadows in the picture builds a strong contrast between sources of light and darkness. The lighting projects emphasis on several objects and builds three dimensions using shadow and color. The contrast also brings the three dimensional illusion to life, giving the painting its distinguishing features. The painting lacks a definite pattern or motif, and the only reoccurring object is the pocket watches. It's scenery changes throughout the piece from geometric objects, to empty space, to mountains. In this piece the vanishing point appears to make sense and the water touching the skyline gives an illusion of distance. The proportion of the other objects in the painting however, do not follow traditional standards. The pocket watches seem ridiculously large and warped in every direction, while the tree holding the silver watch up is similar in size to the pocket watch. The overall unity of Dali's painting brings mixed emotions. The interpretation of the piece always has a critics bias either directly or indirectly. The Persistence of Memory seems to have a darker impact on people because of its style and subject matter. It is not seen as a cheerful or happy painting, but more eerie and disturbing. According to the Salvador Dali Museum this painting is known to cause fear

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Metamorphosis And The Persistence Of Memory By Salvador Dali

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, this medium is not the strongest example of the theme compared to the other works because of the ability to freely interpret its meaning. The first piece of evidence that supports this theme would be the obvious use of the melting clocks. Since this painting was inspired by Dali’s dream created in his subconscious and due to the clocks being disfigured, it could potentially symbolize that time is able to pass before one can comprehend that it is gone. Another example could be the horizon in the distance of the painting with the light over powering the dark sand. As a result could mean that as one takes the time to approach the light, it could mean things could be better in

    Read More

  • Un Coq Pour Chango: The Oracle And The Green Bird

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    Large and medium sizes of the forms dominate over small in the painting. The arrangement of the objects in this art piece is mostly centric. However, even though it is central, it is not symmetrical. The painter also touched the left edge of the burlap and the right bottom corner of it; this helps viewer’s eye to enter the painting smoothly, move around and escape from it. The asymmetry of the arrangement creates the sense of imbalance. Lam uses basic lines and shapes in the composition. Nevertheless, the painter creates wonderful light movement inside the figure with wavy shapes, which directs viewer’s eye from the top to the

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Jonas Lie's Dusk On Lower Broadway

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Additionally, Lie placed tall trees in the foreground of the painting to give a sense of the scale between the observer’s perspective and surrounding objects. Furthermore, Lie used dark, cold colors, such as purple, blue and black, to depict the feeling of a winter’s afternoon. Lie also used snow on the ground as an obvious indicator of the time frame in which the painting is occurring. However, in contrast to the dark cold colors used, Lie also used subtle hints of orange, yellow and red to show that there is some presence of light in the piece. The background of the painting is a sheen of yellow, suggesting the presence of light and the forming sunset.

    Read More

  • Visual Analysis Bouuerau

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    The focal point of being the mother and appear to be true to size. In comparison, the apple, the trees and landscape in the in the distance are all represented to be true to size based on this perspective. The women being bare foot along with the child who is naked provides unity to painting as they are part of the natural landscape. All of this, gives the viewer the impression that this is a realistic picture.

    Read More

  • The Glory of the Light Within by Dale Terbush

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the left-bottom corner of the painting, the viewer is presented with a rugged-orangish cliff and on top of it, two parallel dark green trees extending towards the sky. This section of the painting is mostly shadowed in darkness since the cliff is high, and the light is emanating from the background. A waterfall, seen originating from the far distant mountains, makes its way down into a patch of lime-green pasture, then fuses into a white lake, and finally becomes anew, a chaotic waterfall(rocks interfere its smooth passage), separating the latter cliff with a more distant cliff in the center. At the immediate bottom-center of the foreground appears a flat land which runs from the center and slowly ascends into a cliff as it travels to the right. Green bushes, rough orange rocks, and pine trees are scattered throughout this piece of land. Since this section of the painting is at a lower level as opposed to the left cliff, the light is more evidently being exposed around the edges of the land, rocks, and trees. Although the atmosphere of the landscape is a chilly one, highlights of a warm light make this scene seem to take place around the time of spring.

    Read More

  • View Of Molo Analysis

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    When looking at the painting it gives us a glimpse of the past. It looks almost like a photograph. The fine detail from the building on the right with the statue on top. The citizens walking around.

    Read More

  • Art Analysis: Olive Trees By Vincent Van Gogh

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    Starting with visual elements I saw lines, implied depth, and texture. I see lines by him using lines created by an edge. Each line is curved not straight but it works with the piece. By using this he creates the piece to make it whole. He uses many curved lines within the painting I don’t know if there is a straight line in the whole thing. The next element I saw was implied depth. Using linear perspective you can see the mountains but they look smaller than the rest of the piece. They are the vanishing point in the back making it look as if you can walk down and they will get closer and closer to you. The last element that I saw was texture. They talk about Van Gogh’s painting, The Starry Night having texture through a two- dimensional surface, in which this painting has that similar feel. Van Gogh uses thick brush stokes on his paintings to show his feelings. There is actually a name for this called, Impasto,

    Read More

  • edgar degas

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    ..., the broader feel of the scene. He wants us to take in the entirety of the painting but have a moment to catch the individual scenes within it, like the couple dancing, the man in the corner rolling his cigar, or the women in the front talking to the man. We do get places where our eyes can rest, but in general your eye takes in the swirl of modern life and pleasure.

    Read More

  • Art Analysis

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Charles Sheeler's View Of New York

    1570 Words  | 4 Pages

    They might not be very prominent, but they exist the painting and serve as the base for creation. For starters, the window pane contains lines that highlight its simple design. Simplicity remains as the core of this work. Moreover, sill is roughly represented by a thick brown line underneath the window as a boundary in a quietly brilliant fashion. The work has a wonderful color allocation to express the mood. The color is limited within the muted palette color range. Grey—the intermediate color of black and white, is the dominate color for both exterior view and the interior part, as a matter of fact, the observer notices that nearly all colors are mixed instead of natural this work. The cloudy sky corresponds to the grey color of the wall, yet the brightness is not influenced. However, this consistency has successfully created a cold, grave and silent environment for a crowded place such as New York. The whole environment of this painting seems to be surrounded by the negative and depressive

    Read More

  • Claude Joseph Vernet Essay

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, he uses texture, color and organic forms to make the landscape look as real as possible. Most of the shapes are formed by shifts in colors and line because the canvas are two-dimensional. The viewer can observe that the painting is dominated by greys, browns, ochers, and other natural colors such as green and yellow to give the scene a more nature-like look. All the components and objects painted in this piece appear to have the same texture and color as the ones found in real life, such as rocks suggesting a rough hard texture and clouds being soft, which probably means that Vernet took in consideration real landscapes and places he might have seen in real life. While using different shades of grey, and painting dark clouds, Vernet was able to convince that a storm was approaching but he also decided to add source of light coming from the upper left corner by using a golden yellow color to create a sense of warmth, which creates a nice contrast between the light and the coldness from the overall shadows that seem to dominate the artwork, creating variety; however, the repetition of colors such as greys gave the whole piece a sense of unity and they also express the shadows of a stormy day. We

    Read More

  • Comparing The Painting 'The Persistence Of Memory' By Salvador Dali

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine you can own one of the famous painting in the world. Which one would it be? What will you do with it? If I got to own a famous painting, I would hang it in my bedroom and I’ll show it to my family. In this situation, If needed to narrow it down it will be The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali or Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. These paintings are extremely different, and their artistic movement is opposite from one another. By the end of this essay, you’re going to know the differences and similarities of these paintings.

    Read More

  • Various Art Critiques

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    As I enter the Gioconda and Joseph King Gallery at the Norton Museum of Art the first thing that Caught my attention was a painting measuring approximately at 4 ft. by 10 ft. on the side wall in a well- light area. As I further examine the painting the first thing I notice is that it has super realism. It also has color, texture, implied space, stopped time, and that it is a representational piece. The foreign man sitting on the chair next to a bed has a disturbed look on his face and is deep into his own thoughts. It’s as if someone he loved dearly just experienced a tragic and untimely death. He is in early depression. I could feel the pain depicted in his eyes. A book titled The Unquiet Grave lying open on the floor by the unmade bed suggesting something is left unresolved. The scattered photos and papers by the bedside cause redintegration. The picture of Medusa’s head screaming on the headboard is a silent scream filled with anger and pain, yet it cannot be heard. I feel as if I am in the one sitting in the chair and I can feel the anger, and regret.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Thomas Birch’s painting An American Ship in Distress

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...hese repeated vertical lines contrast firmly with a horizontal line that divides the canvas almost exactly in half. The background, upper portion of the canvas, seems unchanging and flat, whereas the foreground and middle ground of the painting have a lot of depth to them.

    Read More

  • The Painting

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    To me the painting is a way of showing you what everyone else is seeing. That the painter had the men looking right at each other so they can see themselves running away. In turn I got to see myself doing the same thing and was able to change because of it. When other people look at the painting they probably see something else. That is why I choose to do the painting, it gives you the choice too interpret it any way you see fit. Or it can just be a beautiful painting to look at, but the painting was so much more to me. It painted a thousand words for me.

    Read More

More about What Is The Persistence Of Memory Distinctively Visual

Open Document