Salvador Dali's The Disintegration Of The Persistence Of Memory

Dali’s Transition from Surrealism to Reality One of the most fascinating of Salvador Dali’s later works is 1954s The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, a direct continuation of Dali’s 1931 painting The Persistence of Memory. Offering a darker interpretation of this earlier work, Disintegration features a flooded version of the original landscape, many of the original elements breaking down and literally disintegrating. Much of these changes in the makeup and composition of the painting are a result of Dali’s own change in outlook from the subjective dream exploration of surrealism to the more practical and fascinating world of science and quantum mechanics (Lubar 136). In this exploration of
The breaking down of the original elements of Dali’s first painting and showing them all in an equivalent state of disintegration, and the surreal beauty of the original image being invaded by these unique geometric shapes are just part of the painting’s incredible appeal. In this way, The Disintegration of The Persistence of Memory works not only as a deconstruction of Dali’s own previous work and his attitudes, but as a beautiful painting itself, a way to compensate for his loss of surrealism by absorbing and illustrating the uniqueness of the universe in the form of very pleasing and fascinating shapes and symbols like the melting clocks. Dunbar 5
Works Cited
Dali, Salvador. The Disintegration of Persistence of Memory. Oil on canvas. 10”x13”. The Dali
Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida. 1952-1954.
Hawley, Jessica R. Religious Symbolism in Salvador Dali's Art: A Study of the Influences on
His Late Work. Honors thesis. East Tennessee State University. 2012.
King, Elliot H. “Nuclear mysticism.” Salvador Dalí: Liquid Desire. National Gallery of Victoria,
Melbourne, 2009.
Lubar, Robert. Dalí: The Salvador Dalí Museum Collection. Bulfinch Press,