The artwork titled “Dream and Lie of Franco” was created by the renowned artist Pablo Picasso in 1937, employing the mediums of aquatint and etching on paper. It measures 31.6 x 42 cm and belongs to the art movement known as Surrealism. This symbolic painting is part of the series “The Dream and Lie of Franco,” which responds to the political circumstances of its time.
The artwork is a complex and allegorical composition consisting of a series of images arranged in a grid format, which together read akin to a graphic narrative or comic strip. Sketch-like in appearance, each panel contains caricatured figures and scenes that evoke a sense of chaos and absurdity. Broadly, it serves as a satirical and critical commentary on the figure of Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator, and the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War.
Through a series of distorted and disjointed figures and symbols, Picasso articulates a nightmarish vision interspersed with elements of farce. Each panel’s narrative is infused with visual metaphors—bulls, horses, and fragmented human forms, recurring motifs in Picasso’s work that communicate both personal and collective anguish. Notably, the bull and the horse can be seen as symbols representing Spain and the brutality of war, respectively.
The style is marked by Picasso’s signature approach to form, with an abstraction and deformation that align with the Surrealist movement’s affinity for the illogical and dream-like. Despite the simplicity of the black and white palette, the specific etching technique allows for a range of tonalities and textures that further emphasize the dramatic quality of the scenes depicted. Overall, “Dream and Lie of Franco” stands as a powerful political statement expressed through the avant-garde visual language for which Picasso is renowned.
