Critique

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of Instructor]

[Art]

[Date]

Critique

Introduction

Salvador Dali was considered the best surrealist painter of the past century. Dali was born in 1904 in Catalonia, Spain. Influenced by the ideas and concepts of Sigmund Freud, an Austrian psychologist, Dali meticulously linked abstract art with the subconscious mind (Fanés, Fèlix, and Fèlix Fanés, 2007). As a result, Dali created numerous masterpieces that, even today, impress and motivate an entire generation.

Discussion

Description

The most notable work of Salvador Dali is considered to be “The Persistence of Memory” (Cate-Arries, 1995). The masterpiece was created in 1931 and is currently on display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. “The Persistence of Memory” epitomizes classical surrealism (Cate-Arries, 1995). The artwork has a light blue horizon in the background, that gradually changes to yellow in the top quarter. A body of water, said to be a lake by many, sits beneath the sky. The lake then hits mountains, on which light of a setting sun can be seen. A single pebble can be seen in front of the mountains. An elevated platform, rectangular in shape and reflective in nature, is placed near the body of the water. Once again a pebble can be seen placed, this time in front of the platform. There is a tree with no leaves and top in front of the platform. There is but one branch of the tree, on which a melting clock, silver in color, displaying numbers three to nine, can be seen. The tree seems to atop a brown desk. On the desk, there are another two watches. One of them is melting has a gold boundary and a blue dial. The time this clock is portraying is twelve to seven. On this clock, there is fly, casting a shadow of what appears to be a human figure. Besides this melting clock, there is a pocket clock of bronze color. There are a number of ants on this clock. The ground is of darker brown shade that at places changes into black. A white figure, with another melting clock on it, is seen on the brown ground. This enigmatic white figure has disproportionate eyelashes. With eyes being shut, an object can be seen moving outwards from the nostrils of this figure.

Analysis

This masterpiece of Dali is a painting that has all the fundamental elements of art. These elements are lines, values, shapes, form, colors, and texture. The lines are thin and equal in width.

The values of “The Persistence of Memory” is drawn with great care. Details are highlighted through thicker values rendering three-dimensional perspectives into this artwork. Furthermore, the masterpiece has a number of shapes and figures that made it stand out from the rest of the works by other writers. There are shapes and figures which are both noticeable and unnoticeable. The most obvious principle of design employed in the artwork is the variety. There are objects of the same nature that represented differently. For instance, the clocks make up a single object, however, they are portrayed differently. Lastly, Dali demonstrated the emphasis of the dominant pathway. The direction of the clock sliding from the top the mysterious white thing is displayed by its hand in the same direction.

Interpretation

The masterpiece is a surreal painting of emotionalism urging viewers to introspect and think of the precious time they have wasted. Dali wanted to persuade the viewers through persuasion (Read, Herbert and Sreten Marić, 1949). This persuasion is witnessed by the melting clocks portraying that the time would eventually run out (Read, Herbert and Sreten Marić, 1949). At that time, surrealism, cubism and modern art were influencing the painters. That is why surrealism is prevalent in this masterpiece evident by odd shapes and figures.

Conclusion

In my opinion, this is a successful work of art. My feelings towards this painting are mixed. On one hand, I am ecstatic by viewing different shapes, values, forms, and textures, on the other, I felt anxious about the time running out from my hand.

Works Cited

Cate-Arries, Francie. "Salvador Dalí, Federico Garcia Lorca, and the Persistence of Memory: Revealing Hidden Faces." Anales de la literatura española contemporánea. Society of Spanish and Spanish-American Studies, 1995.

Fanés, Fèlix, and Fèlix Fanés. Salvador Dali: The construction of the image, 1925-1930. Yale University Press, 2007.

Read, Herbert, and Sreten Marić. The meaning of art. Bungay, Suffolk, England: Penguin Books, 1949.