Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening

Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (1944) is a surrealist painting by Salvador Dalí. It measures 51 by 40.5 cm, and is on display in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, Spain.

According to Dalí, "The noise of the bee here causes the sting of the dart that will wake Gala." The action of the painting - the larger pomegranate from which comes a fish releasing two tigers behind a bayonet - represents the woman's abrupt awakening from her otherwise peaceful dream. This is an example of Sigmund Freud's influence on surrealist art and Dali's attempts to explore the world of dreams.

It has also been suggested that the painting is "a surrealist interpretation of the Theory of Evolution." (1)