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irrationality with the utmost imperialist fury of precision" resulted in pictures of a quality and
brilliance that cannot be ignored, done in bright colour, with an exactitude of statement that at times
recalls less his idols Vermeer and Velazquez than the technique of the Netherlandish masters of the
fifteenth century. Dali's terrifying images are always brought home with tremendous force by the
magical virtuosity of his draughtsmanship and colour.
The Persistence of Memory, of 1931, is one of Dali's most striking and best-known early
Surrealist paintings. Dali said the idea for the work occurred to him while he was eating ripe Cam-
embert cheese. The "wet watches", as they were termed by the astonished, horrified and fascinated
New York public when the picture was first exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, are disturbing
in their destruction of the very idea of time. Three watches lie or hang limply, and the fourth is
devoured by ants while a severed chinless head - its tongue hanging from its nose, its enormous
eyelashes extended on its cheeks - lies equally limp on a barren plain. In the background, rendered
with hallucinatory clarity, are the rocky cliffs of a Catalan bay.
A contrast to this small picture is the larger and overpowering Soft Construction with Boiled
Beans: Premonition of Civil War, painted in 1936. Monstrous fragments of humans - arms, a breast
being squeezed by a clawlike hand, a convulsed and screaming head - tower against a desolate sky
partly covered with filmy clouds. The rocky terrain in the foreground pullulates with beans, while
above one clenched fist a tiny bearded man gazes disconsolately at the scene. One of the most
frightful images in the entire history of art, this picture is nonetheless, endowed by Dali's aston-
ishing skill with an unexpected and terrible beauty.
After considerable activity in the fields of stage design, jewellery design, and even shop
window decoration, Dali moved to Christian art. His technique is brilliant and his fantasy is
magical.
Make sure you know how to pronounce the following words:
Surrealist [
]; Camembert [
]; Catalan [
]; monstrous
[
]; Vermeer [
]; Freud [
]
NOTES
The Persistence of Memory - "Постоянство памяти"
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War
- "Мягкая конструкция с
вареными бобами: предчувствие гражданской войны"
pullulate [
] - бот. прорастать
TASKS
I. Read the text. Make sure you understand it. Mark the following statements true or false.
1. In Parish 1926 Dali fell under the influence of Matisse.
2. In the early 1920s Dali produced paintings that recalled the works of his idols Botticelli and
Goya.
3. Dali painted terrifying images with tremendous force.
4. The idea of The Persistence of Memory occurred to Dali while he was eating oranges.
5. The Persistence of Memory was first exhibited at the British Museum.
6. The Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War is the most fearful
image in the entire history of art.
II. How well have you read? Can you answer the following questions?
1. What does Salvador Dali typify?
2. What was Freud's impact on Dali's creative activity?
3. What did Dali begin producing when he set out on his individual style? What was Dali's
desire? What was the result of it?
4. What is Dali's best-known early Surrealist painting? How was this painting termed by the
New-York public? Why is this painting disturbing? What is represented in this picture? What is
shown in the background?
5. What is depicted in the Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War?
What is shown in the foreground? Why is this painting the most frightful image in the entire history
of art?