The Melting Watch is often referred to as Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion, or simply, Soft Watch.
The dreamy world found in Dali's subconscious mind was the inspiration for this and many other Surrealist works in his career.
The melting watch faces are repeated in several of his paintings, as is the elongated elephant.
Dali would enter a meditative state in order to access this part of his mind, then quickly sketching down the creativity that flowed from it.
The melting objects have perhaps become the best known symbol of Dali, particularly for those who are only fleeting followers of famous artists of the 20th century.
The rules of physics are ignored and fought against in much of the work by surrealist artists, such as unbelievable balancing of heavy objects onto fragile items.
It is the dreamlike style of surrealism which is most evident in this painting, as a watch twists and some of its component parts fly off or float. The viewer is confused and intrigued.
The symbolism used here by the artist maybe simply to suggest that time brings destruction, sooner or later.
