Salvador Dali

Today I visited the Salvador Dali exhibit at the High Museum of Atlanta. I enjoyed seeing two of Dali’s most famous paintings, The Persistence of Memory and Christ of Saint John of the Cross.

Dali named this painting The Persistence of Memory because he believed once one saw it, it’d be almost impossible to forget. I was surprised because it was very small. I learned Dali first painted the landscape and didn’t know what subject to draw. One evening after dinner he observed a piece of cheese melt by the radiator, inspiring him to draw melting clocks.

This in one of the most unique depictions of the crucifixion and perhaps the most famous of the 20th century. Not only is the angle of the painting unusual, but Jesus is not nailed to the cross nor does he have the crown of thorns. The audioguide of the museum had Archbishop Gregory of Atlanta giving some insight into the painting. He points out Dali’s depiction is different because crucifixions depict Jesus either alive or dead, but this one is unclear. It seems Jesus is hovering over the world.

Raised Catholic but abandoned the faith, Dali later returned to the faith of his youth. He considered himself a mystic obsessed with physics and God. His Catholicism however was a la Dali. He asserted science pointed him to God, yet that he did not have faith. His religious art has great depth while connecting to modernity.

I give this exhibit two thumbs up. If you have a chance, drive up to Atlanta to see it.