The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory
Encyclopedia
La desintegración de la persistencia de la memoria or The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (oil on canvas, c. 1952 to 1954), is a painting by the Spanish surrealist
Salvador Dalí
. It is an oil on canvas recreation of the artist's famous 1931 work The Persistence of Memory
, and measures a diminutive 25.4 × 33 cm. It was originally known as The Chromosome of a Highly-coloured Fish's eye starting the Harmonious Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, and first exhibited at the Carstairs Gallery in New York in 1954.
. Behind the bricks, the horns receding into the distance symbolise atomic missiles, highlighting that despite cosmic order, man could bring about his own destruction. The dead olive tree from which the soft watch hangs has also begun to break apart. The hands of the watches float above their dials, with several conical objects floating in parallel formations encircling the watches. A fourth melting watch has been added. The distorted human visage from the original painting is beginning to morph into another of the strange fish floating above it. However, to Dalí, the fish was a symbol of life.
explosions of August 1945, and described the atom as his "favourite food for thought". Recognising that matter was made up of atoms which did not touch each other, he sought to replicate this in his art at the time, with items suspended and not interacting with each other, such as in The Madonna of Port Lligat
. To Dalí, this image was symbolic of the new physics—the quantum world which exists as both particles and waves. The imagery of original Persistence of Memory can be read as a representation of Einstein's theory of relativity
(although Dalí himself denied the connection to the theory), symbolizing the warping of spacetime by gravity. In this new work, quantum mechanics is symbolized by "digitizing" the old image.
Dalí symbolised and marked the loss of his interest in surrealism with The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory as his interest in nuclear physics and religion led him elsewhere.
The painting is currently owned by the Salvador Dalí Museum
in St. Petersburg, Florida
. It was transported to and exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria
in Melbourne in 2009, along with many other Dali paintings in the Liquid Desire exhibition.
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
. It is an oil on canvas recreation of the artist's famous 1931 work The Persistence of Memory
The Persistence of Memory
The Persistence of Memory is a 1931 painting by artist Salvador Dalí, and is one of his most recognizable works. The painting has been in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since 1934...
, and measures a diminutive 25.4 × 33 cm. It was originally known as The Chromosome of a Highly-coloured Fish's eye starting the Harmonious Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, and first exhibited at the Carstairs Gallery in New York in 1954.
Description
In this version, the landscape from the original work has been flooded with water. Disintegration depicts what is occurring both above and below the water's surface. The landscape of Cadaqués is now hovering above the water. The plane and block from the original is now divided into brick-like shapes that float in relation to each other, with nothing binding them. These represent the breakdown of matter into atoms, a revelation in the age of quantum mechanicsQuantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
. Behind the bricks, the horns receding into the distance symbolise atomic missiles, highlighting that despite cosmic order, man could bring about his own destruction. The dead olive tree from which the soft watch hangs has also begun to break apart. The hands of the watches float above their dials, with several conical objects floating in parallel formations encircling the watches. A fourth melting watch has been added. The distorted human visage from the original painting is beginning to morph into another of the strange fish floating above it. However, to Dalí, the fish was a symbol of life.
Background
Dalí had been greatly interested in nuclear physics since the first atomic bombNuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
explosions of August 1945, and described the atom as his "favourite food for thought". Recognising that matter was made up of atoms which did not touch each other, he sought to replicate this in his art at the time, with items suspended and not interacting with each other, such as in The Madonna of Port Lligat
The Madonna of Port Lligat
The Madonna of Port Lligat is the name of three paintings by Salvador Dalí. The first was created in 1949, measuring 49 x 37.5 centimetres , and is housed in the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dali submitted it to Pope Pius XII for approval, which was granted...
. To Dalí, this image was symbolic of the new physics—the quantum world which exists as both particles and waves. The imagery of original Persistence of Memory can be read as a representation of Einstein's theory of relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
(although Dalí himself denied the connection to the theory), symbolizing the warping of spacetime by gravity. In this new work, quantum mechanics is symbolized by "digitizing" the old image.
Dalí symbolised and marked the loss of his interest in surrealism with The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory as his interest in nuclear physics and religion led him elsewhere.
The painting is currently owned by the Salvador Dalí Museum
Salvador Dalí Museum
The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, houses the largest collection outside Europe of the works of the artist Salvador Dalí and is located on the Downtown St. Petersburg waterfront.-History:...
in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. It was transported to and exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
in Melbourne in 2009, along with many other Dali paintings in the Liquid Desire exhibition.