Retrospective Bust of a Woman exemplifies Dali's found object sculptures in which the original materials would be recontextualized through a process of assembly and composition. This piece was constructed around an inkstand, atop which was placed a replica of figures from Jean-Francois Millet's painting The Angelus (1857-1859). Dali was fixated on this painting, deeming it a marvelous representation of sexual repression, which he worked compulsively to unleash. The necklace draped around the bust is made from a zoetrope strip, indicating the potential for movement in a still object as well as Dali's interest in film.