by Salvador Dali The Persistence of Memory it is one of his most beloved works from a prolific life. It was painted in 1931 long after he had attended art school in Madrid and Barcelona. His early work throughout his upbringing reflects an unusual aptitude for a wide variety of styles.

In the 1930s, Dalí’s unparalleled skill as an artist was combined with his discovery of Sigmund Freud’s teachings on subconscious images, and his recognizably mature style was introduced to the world. before painting The Persistence of Memory Dalí had also become acquainted with the surrealists in Paris. He felt empowered to create innovative art that would establish reality within the subconscious.

Iconic images of the melting pocket watch have made The Persistence of Memory one of Dalí’s most recognizable paintings. The painting is a splendid example of the contrast between sharp, hard lines and molten softness. The clocks themselves symbolize the concept of past time and perhaps the irrelevance of time in the universe. Dali may have been commenting on Albert Einstein’s surreal interpretation of the theory of relativity.

Dalí painted an abstract human figure in the middle of the composition that some interpret as a self-portrait. This strange figure is a recurring visitor in his work and represents a soul traveling within the realms of reality and the subconscious. Dalí often drugged himself into hallucinatory states and spent a lot of time exploring his subconscious. The figure in the painting has a single closed eye, suggesting a dream state.

Ants are crawling over a clock in the bottom left of the painting. Dali often painted ants to symbolize decay. This effectively links on the mortal plane to the work that is clearly a representation of the subconscious.

Clocks were likely used by Salvador Dalí to symbolize mortality rather than literal time. And the cliffs that serve as a backdrop are the impression of part of Catalonia, which was Dalí’s childhood home.

This is a rather small painting, at least not as big as you think. while this painting is one of Dalí’s greatest triumphs, the actual size of this oil on canvas measures just 9 1/2″ x 13″.

This painting was first shown at the Julien Levy Gallery and has been in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City since 1932, thanks to an anonymous donor.