Analysis Of The Face Of War By Salvador Dali

The Face of War

Artist: Salvador Dali
Year: 1940
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Location: Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Dimension: 100 cm x 79 cm

Historical Context
The happenings of the years where the piece was produced included the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. As the civil war and the Second World War rolled around Dali increasingly came into conflict with other members of the Surrealist movement. In 1934 he was thrown out, apparently because he refused to take a stance against the Spanish militant Francisco Franco. Officially however the reason for his expulsion was due to “counter-revolutionary activity involving the celebration of fascism under Hitler." ("Spanish Civil") Though the other Surrealists might also have been influenced by the way that Dali acted in such a flamboyant way in public. Later he then

This is mostly created through the horizon and the gradient from light to dark sand which gives the illusion of space.
Interpretation
The title of the painting, “The Face of War” gives a very clear understanding of what this painting is supposed to represent. When looking at the deeper meaning however, one has to consider the context of the painting. Because it was made during both a civil war-capital letters?? and the Second World War, many aspects of these wars are reflected upon in this piece.
War is seemingly never ending. This can be especially well seen in the face itself. In all of its orifices the skull has another skull, which also have skulls in their openings. It also shows how war breeds war no matter what people say and no matter how much people dispute that a war is meant to bring peace.
Nothing surrounds war. I believe that this is shown by the fact that the setting of this painting is the desert. The desert is a place known as a location where very little living things are found. People that enter war have a hard time returning