11 Secret Symbols That Help You Understand One of Salvador Dalí’s Most Famous Paintings

“Surrealism is me”. The phrase was said by none other than the Spanish painter Salvador Dalí, a genius and eccentric rebel who, with his more than 1,500 works, changed the fine arts forever. One of his most iconic works is “The Persistence of Memory”, a painting measuring only 24 × 33 cm and which was painted in 1931, but which continues to cause admiration and generate discussions to this day.

we, from awesome.club, we decided to delve into the world of surrealism to reveal the secret meanings of this masterpiece.

Based on interviews of the time and letters published by Dalí, it is possible to conclude that the Spanish genius produced this magnificent work on an occasion when he was stricken with headaches while his wife, Gala, was at the cinema with friends. Alone, the painter would have gone to his room, when he came across, there, a piece of camembert cheese melting in the sun.

The sight of that image would have been something of an insight into the famous melted clock that stands out in the frame. Dalí would have even forgotten about his headaches and rushed to his studio, from which he had a magnificent view of Port Ligat, the small village in Catalonia where he lived at the time – and which to this day has a museum in his honor. Then, voila, the clocks were being painted. Dalí later revealed that it would have taken him just two hours to paint that masterpiece — so much so that, when Gala returned from the cinema, the painting had already been completed.

Now, let’s get to the details you probably didn’t know about.

1. Melted clock. This symbol represents non-linear time, where the past coexists with the present and the future (it can happen in dreams). Because of this non-linearity, we can identify the three times in the painting: the clock on the tree symbolizes the past; the melted on the table, the present; and the clock over a sleeping figure represents the future. The position of the dials also has its special significance, which we will show below.

two. Orange oval object. This figure is also a clock. But it is not deformed because it symbolizes linear time, where the past, present and future cannot exist at the same time. We cannot control this clock. Dalí despises that kind of time. So the clock is face down and there are ants on it.

3. Ants. Insects almost cover the watch. They are a reference to putrefaction and death in Dalí’s works. This association arose in childhood, when the painter saw ants on the body of a dead bat. Little Dalí was then very impressed. The insects in the painting also represent the notion of transience.

4. Fly. Dalí called the flies “Mediterranean Fairies”. In “The Diary of a Genius”, the Spanish master wrote: “They were inspired by Greek philosophers who spent their lives under the sun, covered in flies”. Unlike the ants, associated with death in the painter’s imagination, these insects symbolize Dalí’s muse and the inspiration that helped him create this fantastic work.

5. Melted figure. If we use our imagination, we can see, in this figure, the image of a man sleeping. He has a Greek nose, tongue, eyelashes and even an eyebrow. It is Dalí’s self-portrait. The painter believed that the dream is death or at least the exclusion of reality. Or, even better, it is the death of reality, which also occurs during acts of love. Self-portraits of this type are common in Dalí’s works. Another excellent example is the painting “The Great Masturbator”.

6. Mirror. It symbolizes versatility and inconstancy. The mirror can reflect reality as well as the dream world.

7. Dry tree. The olive tree is the ancient symbol of wisdom. The painter believed that the modern world lacked this fair wisdom. Therefore, the tree is dead and the clock (as we have already explained) symbolizes the past.

8. Desert landscape. It symbolizes melancholy and emptiness in the painter’s soul.

9. Sea. For Dalí, the sea is the symbol of eternity, of immortality. A perfect place to travel. The Spanish painter believed that the sea, over time, is not objective and that its existence is linked to the mindset of the traveler.

10. mountains. Cabo de Creus symbolizes the origins of Dalí, who was born in Figueres, close to these rocks. The landscape is easy to recognize and is found in many of the painter’s works. Dalí treats childhood memories tenderly and often reflects them in his paintings.

11. Egg. One of the best known symbols of the works of the Spanish genius. In “The Persistence of Memory” the small oval near the mountains is the symbol of changes and the new, which always arrives inexorably. This image was used by the Orphics, ancient Greek mystics. According to mythology, Fanet, the first bisexual deity who created people, was born from the Cosmic Egg. The two halves of the shell formed the sky and the earth, a fact that would explain the existence of this detail in the painting.