Consider the following when looking at this painting:
- The black and white scheme denotes a somber and serious situation of pain and chaos.
- The forms are twisted to reflect torment. The humans and animals are both contorted and wear expressions of shock and pain. Even the buildings and walls in the background are warped and reflecting destruction.
- Triangles are a prominent shape. They make up the tongues of flame attacking the buildings. The represent the light pouring from the light bulb above. Triangles are incorporated in the forms of the people and buildings as well.
- The little lines that make up some of the forms are newsprint because newspapers told the story of the event to the rest of the world.
This is a very famous Picasso painting called Guernica . He created it by commission in 1937 in response the joint German and Italian bombing of the town of Guernica in Basque Country.
The conflict was the Spanish Civil War. The conservative generals challenging the authority of the elected government received support from Germany and Italy. On April 26, 1937, their air forces engaged in a terror assault on Guernica. The primary goal of the bombing was not to destroy important military assets, but rather to demoralize the enemy in a frightening assault. Of the 5,000 nominal inhabitants, 200 to 400 were killed.
Today the painting resides in Madrid as a remainder of the horrors of war.
Even though I don't know anything about painting, the Guernica has made a big impression on me ever since I first saw it. I was immediately struck by the chaos and raw emotion of it, especially the pained and shocked faces of weirdly distorted faces and animals. When I read that it was inspired by the bombing of the town Guernica in WW2, the painting resonated even more with me. This is definitely a painting that if you see once you won't ever forget.
ReplyDeleteThe bombing was not during World War II but during the Spanish Civil War which went from 1936 - 1939. It did have an effect on WWII though since half a million people were killed and tank warfare and terror bombings were refined.
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited Spain, this painting was on display and needless to say my entire class was extremely excited to see it. It is very large for oil on canvas and the idea of seeing a Picasso in real life adds to its esteem. Although many of Picasso’s paintings have these abstract depictions of nature and humans, the particular discrepancies in form in this painting hint at the grotesque violence that took place in this terrorist bombing. The deformity in the horse’s face, which reminds me of the swollen horse in Blood Meridian, also reflects nature’s feelings of despair and horror as if some universal code was violated. Even the woman holding the limp body of her son sparks a little bit of sorrow within me. This painting effectively contains the emotions of an entire town within one scene.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that there are no direct references to the machinery of the bombing, i.e., the planes or bombs; instead, the painting depicts only the suffering of the bombed. It is as though the inanimate tools of war are unimportant in the face of the enormity of the suffering of innocents. To me, this painting looks like it could almost reference any historical act of war that resulted in civilian deaths. Only the incandescent light bulb provides a chronological reference.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment that it the painting could be a reference to any war and any collateral damage. What is being emphasized isn't necessarily the historical context of the violence, but the chaos itself. The focus on this abstract quality lends it a sense of universality and timelessness.
ReplyDeleteOne more, thing, there was a copy of the painting donated to the UN building.
April 26th will mark the 74th anniversary (1937) of the bombing of Guernica when Hitler's Air Force dropped bombs on market day as hundreds of civilians were in town. This was done at the request of the Spanish government. Picasso immortalized this event in the painting of "Guernica" and requested this painting be returned to the Basq ...ue Country after WWII which followed the Spanish Civil War. It had been safe in New York...and then sent to Madrid.
ReplyDeleteThere is an on-line petition to sign (pétition en ligne)...please help us get it back to the Basque Country in Guernica where it belongs.
http://www.guernicagernikara.net/home/?page_id=80
José Perea-Sasiaín says:
ReplyDeletePablo Ruiz PICASSO had been requested to paint a mural at the Spanish Stand of a World Fair in Paris. Picasso learnt of the Gernika bombing and went into his most sublime frenzied work.
This bombing was described by Winston S. Churchill as an "experimental horror". It was both in its conception and execution strictly a prussian affair. A fellow named Richthoffen, a cousin of the "red baron", gave the direct orders. Aside the terror on the civilian population, the effect of the bombs was to be ascertained, since Guernica was both an open town and was not be defended in order to avoid destruction of its historic oak and basque symbolic buildings. The Franco faction tried in every shameless propagandistic way to skip their primary responsability.
Thank you all of you for the comments.