Salvador Dali’s artwork titled “Premature Ossification of a Railroad Station” from 1930 is an oil on canvas painting that measures 31.5 x 27 cm. This work is recognized as part of the Surrealism movement and is categorized as symbolic painting. The surreal aspect is embodied through Dali’s distinctive style, which often juxtaposes dreamlike imagery with realistic detail. As of the knowledge cutoff in April 2023, this piece resides in a private collection.
The artwork presents a striking scene with a desert-like expanse under a sky that transitions from a deep blue at the top to a lighter hue near the horizon. Two converging sets of railway tracks draw the viewer’s eye to a distant, disintegrated station, merging with a craggy cliffside landscape. Closer to the foreground, a bizarrely contorted human figure, lacking full form and appearing almost skeleton-like, holds a melting clock draped over its extended arm. The figure’s shadow casts a sharp contrast on the surrounding flat surface, enhancing the overall feeling of desolation and timelessness. The dreamlike quality of the painting is typical of Dali’s work, invoking themes of decay, impermanence, and the subconscious. The melting clock, a recurrent motif in Dali’s oeuvre, may suggest fluidity and distortion of time, a theme that resonates with Surrealist preoccupations with the surreal and the workings of the inner psyche.
