Dream about the melting Camembert cheese

Salvador Dalí: The Persistence of Memory (1931)

Truly one of the most recognizable paintings in the world. An interesting fact is that it's more common to refer to this painting by a popular title describing the painting as 'Soft watches' which is not the real title, but easier to memorize to the philosophical Surrealist title.
Dream and the unconcious are main topics of the Surrealist movement and the painting deals with the same question. Dalí himself told that the scene was inspired by his dream of melting pieces of Camembert cheese.

Actually, Dalí had a theory on "softness and hardness" which appears in the picture through the pocket watches against the sharp branches of the dried up tree and the craggy rocks in the background. The brownish-grey form in the middle is supposedly the 'Dreamer' of the scene, but like everything regarding Dalí's work, this also remains obscure.
The The Persistence of Memory is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Arts in New York.
Since Dalí is one of my favourites, it's a big dream to see the painting in live and the whole collection of MoMA.

From: S. Zs.

Date: November 2011