The well-known surrealist piece introduced the image of the soft melting pocket watch. It epitomizes Dalí's theory of "softness" and "hardness", which was central to his thinking at the time. As Dawn Ades wrote, "The soft watches are an unconscious symbol of the relativity of space and time, a Surrealist meditation on the collapse of our notions of a fixed cosmic order"[1]. This interpretation suggests that Dalí was incorporating an understanding of the world introduced by Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. When asked by Ilya Prigogine whether this was in fact the case, Dali replied that the soft watches were not inspired by the theory of relativity, but by the surrealist perception of a camembert cheese melting in the sun.[2]
Although fundamentally part of Dalí's Freudian phase, the imagery precedes his transition to his scientific phase by fourteen years, which occurred after an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
It is possible to recognize a human figure in the middle of the composition, in the strange "monster" that Dalí used in several period pieces to represent himself – the abstract form becoming something of a self portrait, reappearing frequently in his work. The orange clock at the bottom left of the painting is covered in ants. Dalí often used ants in his paintings as a symbol for death, as well as a symbol of female genitalia.
The figure in the middle of the picture is symbolized as a "fading" creature, as which, when one often dreams, he or she cannot pin-point the exact form and composition of a creature. One can also see that the creature has one closed eye with several eyelashes; this also suggests that the creature is in a dream state. The iconography of this famous painting is that of a dream that Dalí had experienced. The clocks symbolize the passing of time that one experiences in a dream state.
While Salvador Dali did create quite a few limited edition graphics, etchings, engravings, lithographs etc., that were hand signed in pencil for the most part (some signed in ink) he did not agree to create a limited edition version of the Persistence of Memory until 1974. The hand signed print is an interpretation of Dali's earlier work. The original painting is a small 9" x 12", but the limited edition graphic is a large 29 1/2 x 30 1/2 inch work on heavy archival paper.
Notice the added clock in the interpretation.
Also (not shown here) there is a small image in the lower border
that shows the original paitning, and there are also engraved characters in the
lower border as well. The pencil signature and pencil edition numbers are just below
the image.
The art market is changing at a fast past these days, as Christies and Sothby's are reporting record auction sales. Limited edition works that sold for affordable prices only 15 or 20 years ago, are selling at record high prices today.
It is still possible to obtain one of these rare works by Dali, but as it has happened with all Masters in the past, the availability of any original or signed limited edition works changes at a much faster pace as time marches on.
If you have any questions about this work, fee free to call me at: 888-888-DALI ask for Dan.
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