ipl-logo

Salvador Dali Research Paper

1507 Words7 Pages

Dalí the Surrealist The Surrealism movement brought out the dreamer in everyone in the 1920s. Having the freedom to express reality from dreaming, artists of all trades were able to express what they envisioned. Salvador Dalí, a Spanish painter, is one of the most recognized Surrealists within the movement. Not only did he paint, but he also worked on sculpting, photography, and even worked with Walt Disney on making a short film. Dalí was born on May 11, 1904, in the town of Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. While growing up, he studied art in different parts of Spain due to either being expelled or suspended from the art school he was in for either protesting or having his very flamboyant and extravagant personality getting in the way. As he …show more content…

Dalí had a dream about Camembert cheese melting while Gala was watching a movie. When he realized he was dreaming, he woke up and began to paint. In the painting, it showed three clocks melting, a pocket watch with ants, a piece of skin, and mountains. The mountains in the background are actually the rocks of Cape Creus, symbolizing a favorite childhood memory of his summer days. The three clocks melting symbolized Dalí wanting time, to literally, take it’s time. The piece of skin that’s seen on the floor is Dalí’s profile. If one looks closely, they could see his eye, nose, and moustache. On Dalí appears a melting watch, which may suggest that Dalí wants time for himself due to always painting almost all the time and being affectionate towards Gala all the time. The closed, orange pocket watch with the ants represents how everyone is figuring a way to keep time ticking for him or herself. “The imagery reaches into the unconscious, evoking the seemingly universal human preoccupation with time and memory” (Harris). In total, the painting may represent how Dalí wishes for time to slow down and let others realize time takes its own pace. When Gala returned from the movie theatre, “… she correctly predicted that no one who had seen “The Persistence of Memory” would ever forget it” (Harris). There is no right or wrong interpretation to the painting; Dalí wanted to create impactful visual paintings for the viewer to stop and

Show More
Related

Summary Of The Hallucinogenic Toreador

906 Words | 4 Pages

Dali abandoned monumental works because he was devoting his time and energy to building his grand museum and mausoleum in Figueres, Spain, his Catalan hometown. The Hallucinogenic Toreador contain symbols and imagery from his early art periods. Mashing together surrealism, the many figures from Millet’s The Angelus painting, with nuclear mysticism (i.e. the dissolving flies), this large scale canvas is all over the place stylistically and chronologically. It contains a poignant double image of two very interesting and disparate characters: Venus de Milo and Manolete.

Read More

Visual Symbolism In Wilder's Sunset Boulevard

1001 Words | 5 Pages

In this sense he is physically being trapped and isolated by time, a clear visual symbol for the struggle he is facing in his life. Much like the image of the

Read More

Summary And Response To The Imagined Spectator By Charles Harrison

556 Words | 3 Pages

As the author suggests, it is possible for us to infer some cues about their significance, purpose, meaning or historical context, etc. by just pondering over the possible audience or spectator they might have been intended for. However, it is also true that our perception can be subjective because people wouldn’t see things exactly the same way. Even though it is not physically present inside the picture plane, we can tell there is this implied or imagined viewer which we can clearly identify ourselves with. I think it does complement the painting well and there seems to be some sort of causal relationship between the imagined spectator and the painting itself as if their existence is dependent upon each other.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Salvador Dali: Life And Work

518 Words | 3 Pages

Even when the subject of the book dies himself, the author only states, “Dali died on January 23, 1989” (Weyers 91). By stating that Gala, the wife of Dali, and Dali himself “died” rather than ‘passed’ or ‘moved on to the next life,’ the author shows a refusal to romanticize morbid subjects, even death.

Read More

Juan De Valdas Analysis

531 Words | 3 Pages

This piece holds a very religious point in it since it was painted back in 1660. This painting is very low in saturation and it is very intense on the amount of objects that are in it. There are some geometric shapes within it as well. In this painting, there is a clock to show that time is limited. It’s a very dark painting in the face that there isn’t much hope in trying to outlive life.

Read More

Vanitas Analysis Marilyn

736 Words | 3 Pages

The calendar, clock, and hourglass are symbols of passing time; a reminder of mortality and the impermanence of life (DeWitt et al. 155). The floating objects and the distorted reflection in the mirror create an otherworldly quality to the painting which contrasts with the realism of the objects that represent time (DeWitt et al. 156). On

Read More

Fate In Poe's The Masque Of The Red Death

780 Words | 4 Pages

Poe uses this clock to signify the passing of time. By using this symbol, he is able to reinforce his theme as he connects time to fate. The clock “stood against the western wall” and even “the giddiest grew pale” at this “dull, heavy, monotonous clang” (Poe 84). These quotations are key to fully drawing Poe’s theme together. The first thing one can pick up from these quotes is the fact that the clock “stood against the western wall” (Poe 84).

Read More

Salvador Dali's Old Age, Adolescence Infancy (The Three Ages?

1379 Words | 6 Pages

In the museum of Salvador Dali over at St. Petersburg, Florida, there were several artworks that caught my attention because Dali’s artwork is genuine in many ways. Although I was impressed by all the artworks, there was a particular one that interested me completely. The artwork is the painting titled “Old age, Adolescence, Infancy (The Three Ages)”. This is a 1940, oil on canvas painting with dimensions 19 5/8 in x 25 5/8 in. The subject matter in this work is the three phases of life.

Read More

Comparing The Dream Before Awakening And Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare

935 Words | 4 Pages

There also seems to be a sword that is about to wake her. The light colors that Dali used and the appearance of water signify tranquility. There is no point of concentration when you first look at the painting. However, I’m drawn to the tigers because of the bold, solid lines applied for them. The elephant in the back is painted sideways and blurred out of sight.

Read More

The Skull Of Zurbaran By Salvador Dali

1044 Words | 5 Pages

The many hidden meanings, illusions, and inspirational artistry provide a validation of Dali’s mental state and his thoughts about the Catholic ideology. Although there is no mainstream description of this painting, the painter’s intentions, thoughts, or messages can be analyzed for further understanding of both the painting and the

Read More

Gender Roles In Un Chien Andalou

2740 Words | 11 Pages

There are many overwhelming contrasting views on the idea of gender roles and we see that in Dalí’s paintings where many of his early work were based on fear and loathing of the opposite sex. Throughout the first part of this essay I’m going to discuss the differences in Dalí’s views of the opposite sex and how he represents these views within his paintings. During his early work he portrays a sense fear of the other sex. Dalí had a fear of sexual contact and is represented through his

Read More

Ebola Crisis Thesis Statement

484 Words | 2 Pages

For this discussion post I am using an article written by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, it is a professional journal for people who are interested in topics like geography, geographic information systems and remote sensing. My major is in geography with a minor in geosciences so the information covered in this publication is highly relevant to both, my current career and my future career goals. The aurthor of the journal article I selected is Paul Frommelt, he is with the NGA Office of Corporate Communications, in the article he discusses how the NGA supports the Ebola crisis (Paul Frommelt, NGA Office of Coroporate Communications.) The tone of the article comes across as informative in nature.

Read More

The Symbolism Of Time In The Night Circus By Herr Thiessen

230 Words | 1 Pages

After reading“The Night Circus”, it is clear to see that one of the repeated themes is time. Time is something that is very important to the story and is illustrated by the powerful symbol of Herr Thiessen's clock. Thiessen’s clock symbolizes the way that time has stopped still for the purposes of the circus and the people involved with it. Note that the description of the clock and what happens as it begins to change. Meanwhile, the clock’s internal material start to expand and contract, almost like pieces of a puzzle.

Read More

Art History: The Surrealist Movement

1632 Words | 7 Pages

I think that this piece could be emphasising some of his character traits in that he is paranoid and anxious about time quickly passing away. Perhaps this was something that Dali was particularly concerned about when growing older. I am intrigued by this piece by Dali as it creates

Read More

Salvador Dali's Surrealism Analysis

1519 Words | 7 Pages

This exploration of the unconscious on the canvas is what he called his “ paranoiac-critical method”; where he takes some elements experienced in his state of unconsciousness and represent them in his paintings as realistically as possible so that the viewer can interpret it in his own way, using his own experience of the unconscious. He also states that his method is simply the organization of his inner thoughts represented through the balance between subjectivity and objectivity, by relating unusual objects together and using optical illusions . Dali wanted to explore this hidden realm, to discover any personal fears or traumas, that will further help him understand this part of our mind and furthermore represent it in his paintings. He strove to relate dreams to reality to reach the state of ‘ sur-reality’. Just like Freud, Dali explained that dreams come from the subconscious part of the mind, representing suppressed ideas that are usually considered taboo in the real word we live in.

Read More

More about Salvador Dali Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document