Other than the first image “The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí” all the remaining images were generated using AI text to image generators like Stable Diffusion XL 1.0, Playground 2.5 and DALL-E 3.
The images were NOT created by Salvador Dalí (he died in 1989, aged 84 year), at best you could describe the images as inspired by Salvador Dalí.
What I wanted to achieve was an AI generated image which encompassed the surreal feel etc… of Salvador Dalí’s amazing works of art, especially The Persistence of Memory oil on canvas painting.
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí The Persistence of Memory
The Persistence of Memory, also known as La persistència de la memòria in Catalan, is a 1931 oil on canvas painting by Salvador Dalí, and is widely recognized as one of the most prominent examples of Surrealism. The painting was first shown at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1932. Since 1934, it’s been at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Someone anonymous gave it to them. People often talk about it in popular culture. They call it melting clocks, soft watches, or melting watches.
The well-known surrealist work introduced the ethereal appearance of the melted pocket watch. This illustrates Dalí’s notion of “softness” and “hardness”, which was a crucial component of his thinking.
Salvador Dalí Inspired AI Generated Images
There are quite a few AI image generators available, I could have ran this experiment through them all, but I have my favorites- I don’t like Midjourney as it’s on Discord. So, I experimented with Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 (via NightCafe Studio), DALL-E 3 (via BING Designer) and Playground 2.5 (via playground.com).
My first experiment was the simple text to image prompt:
“The Persistence of Memory painting by Salvador Dalí.”
I gave each AI 4 chances since BING Designer (DALL-E 3) usually generates 4 images, so to make it fair I had to create 4 images for SDXL 1.0 and Playground 2.5.
I went with the basic options where settings could be changed: BING Designer has no options whilst SDXL 1.0 and Playground 2.5 have a plethora of advanced settings. With the right settings (and maybe LORAs) we could achieve much better results with SDXL 1.0 and Playground 2.5.
The best results from all three AI image generators indicated they had been trained on Salvador Dalí images and specifically The Persistence of Memory oil painting. Results below.
DALL-E 3 The Persistence of Memory Painting Inspired by Salvador Dalí
DALL-E 3 The Persistence of Memory Painting Inspired by Salvador Dalí
Note: I generated square images because BING Designer (DALL-E 3) only creates square images. SDXL 1.0 and Playground 2.5 has widescreen options which would have been closer to the original dimensions of The Persistence of Memory oil painting. However, it would have been an unfair experiment to use different image dimensions- stupid BING Designer having no advanced options.
SDXL 1.0 The Persistence of Memory painting inspired by Salvador Dalí
SDXL 1.0 The Persistence of Memory Painting Inspired by Salvador Dalí
Playground 2.5 The Persistence of Memory painting inspired by Salvador Dalí
Playground 2.5 The Persistence of Memory Painting Inspired by Salvador Dalí
I think you’ll agree the SDXL 1.0 image is the closest match to the original oil painting. Interesting all 4 SDXL 1.0 generated images had the essence of The Persistence of Memory, whilst Playground 2.5 didn’t come close and for DALL-E 3 only one of the images was close.
I will add one of the DALL-E 3 images caught my attention. It didn’t look anything like Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory or even look like a oil on canvas painting, but it was surreal (see below).
DALL-E 3 Salvador Dalí Inspired Time Waits For No Man Surrealist Art
DALL-E 3 Salvador Dalí Inspired Time Waits For No Man Surrealist Art
I’m not an expert on Salvador Dalí’s art work (not an expert on any art). After naming the above I found Salvador Dalí has a bronze sculpture titled “Time Waits For No One”.
What do you think of this AI generated art piece?
DALL-E 3 Salvador Dalí Inspired Surrealist AI Art
I ran prompts like “The Persistence of Memory painting by Salvador Dalí. Surreal painting, dramatic expressions, pop surrealism, detailed big eyes, fractal eyes, optical illusion eyes, Monty Python” in DALL-E 3. Below is a combination screenshot of 18 images.
DALL-E 3 Salvador Dalí Inspired Surrealist AI Art
Although the quality of the DALL-E 3 generated images is exceptional and clearly surrealist. IMHO they, for the most part, do not have the Salvador Dalí’s ‘feel’.
What do you think?
Playground 2.5 Salvador Dalí Inspired Surrealist AI Art
I ran prompts like “The Persistence of Memory oil on canvas painting by Salvador Dalí. Melting clocks, Surreal face, dramatic expressions, pop surrealism, detailed big eyes, fractal melting clocks, optical illusion background, surrealism inspired by Salvador Dalí.” in Playground 2.5. Below is a combination screenshot of 18 images.
Playground 2.5 Salvador Dalí Inspired Surrealist AI Art
I like a lot of these Playground 2.5 surrealist AI generated images, you will note many could be described as surrealist portraits of Salvador Dalí, especially prompts which included “melting clocks”. Some of Dalí’s art had the “melting clocks” theme.
What do you think?
Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 Salvador Dalí Inspired Surrealist AI Art
I ran prompts like “The Persistence of Memory oil on canvas painting by Salvador Dalí. Melting clocks, Surreal face, dramatic expressions, pop surrealism, detailed big eyes, fractal melting clocks, optical illusion background, surrealism inspired by Salvador Dalí.” in SDXL 1.0. Below is a combination screenshot of 18 images.
Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 Salvador Dalí Inspired Surrealist AI Art
I have to admit I got a little carried away creating Salvador Dalí inspired art via SDXL 1.0. Where with Playground 2.5 and DALL-E 3 I stopped at around 18 images (ideal number for the screenshots), I created over 80 images via Stable Diffusion XL 1.0. Above are some of my favourites, I particularly like the one below.
SDXL 1.0 Salvador Dalí Inspired What is a Woman?
SDXL 1.0 Salvador Dalí Inspired What is a Woman?
The question of “What is a Woman?” is a political hot potato in 2024. One side arguing anyone can be a woman: it’s just another gender identity and not fixed at birth. The other side argues it’s a state of being: a woman is an adult human female and not an identity or costume for men.
When I saw the Salvador Dalí inspired AI image, I saw a womb, ovaries and fallopian tubes. Made me think about the question: What is a Woman?
When you look at this Salvador Dalí inspired surrealist AI image, what do you see?
DALL-E 3 Salvador Dalí Inspired Wired Eyed Internet Surrealist Art
DALL-E 3 Salvador Dalí Inspired Wired Eyed Internet Surrealist Art
DALL-E 3 generated Salvador Dalí inspired AI surreal art work: Wired Eyed Internet
Generated from the text to image prompt: “The Persistence of Memory painting by Salvador Dalí. Surreal painting, dramatic expressions, pop surrealism, detailed big eyes, fractal eyes, optical illusion eyes, Monty Python”
What do you think about this AI generated art work?
Playground 2.5 Salvador Dalí Inspired Constrained by Time Surreal Art
Playground 2.5 Salvador Dalí Inspired Constrained by Time Surreal Art
Playground 2.5 generated Salvador Dalí inspired AI surrealist art work: Constrained by Time
Generated from the text to image prompt: “The Persistence of Memory oil on canvas painting by Salvador Dalí. Melting clocks, Surreal face, dramatic expressions, pop surrealism, detailed big eyes, fractal melting clocks, optical illusion background, surrealism inspired by Salvador Dalí.”
What do you think about this AI generated art work?
SDXL 1.0 Salvador Dalí Inspired Relative Observed Time Surrealism
SDXL 1.0 Salvador Dalí Inspired Relative Observed Time Surrealism
SDXL 1.0 generated Salvador Dalí inspired AI surreal art work: Relative Observed Time
Generated from the text to image prompt: “The Persistence of Memory oil on canvas painting by Salvador Dalí. Melting clocks, Surreal face, dramatic expressions, pop surrealism, detailed big eyes, fractal melting clocks, optical illusion background, surrealism inspired by Salvador Dalí.”
What do you think about this AI generated art work?
