Invisible Afghan with the Apparition, 1938 by Salvador Dali

Invisible Afghan with the Apparition was painted in 1938, using oil on canvas. The title refers to Frederico Garcia Lorca, with whom Dali formed an intense relationship with in the early Twenties. Lorca was shot and killed in the Spanish Civil War in 1936; this may explain his "apparition' in this painting.

Invisible Afghan with the Apparition is a visual illusion that consists of many objects that, when viewed together, are interpreted by the eye to be one of three possible images. The strongest image is a face that comprises an urn and two men's heads. A fruit dish with pears also appears, formed by the shape of the rocks against the sea with the urn becoming the base. The third image is that of a very vague dog, formed by the swirling clouds, the head resting on the cliffs, its paws painted in sketchily.

Whilst employing double images such as those seen in The Invisible Man, Invisible Afghan with the Apparition is a study of the interlocking forms of three images. Dali used the same three interlocking forms for another paintings in 1938, The Endless Enigma.