The artwork “The Triangular Hour” is a captivating piece that was masterfully created by the renowned artist Salvador Dali in 1933. This oil on canvas work is a clear manifestation of the Surrealist movement, of which Dali was a pivotal figure. As a genre, it falls under the category of landscape. The scene it depicts is imbued with the dreamlike, hallucinatory qualities that define Surrealism, challenging viewers’ perceptions of reality and time.
In the artwork, one encounters an enigmatic landscape under a vast, ethereal sky that transitions from azure to a subtle yellow towards the horizon. Dominating the center of this scene is an amorphous, ochre-green landform, oddly juxtaposed with a withered tree, a soft watch, and two more indistinct objects that appear unnaturally balanced on its summit and cliffside. The melting clock, a motif recurrent in Dali’s oeuvre, suggests a fluidity of time, perhaps hinting at the irrelevance of temporal constraints in the subconscious realm. To the right, on the coastal edge of the landform, rests an enigmatic bust, while the left protrudes a spindly, towering cypress – a symbol often associated with death and eternity. The serene and timeless quality of the sea that peeks through an arching cavity in the landscape provides a stark contrast to the otherwise hallucinatory ensemble, inviting observers into a thought-provoking dialogue with the transient and the infinite.
