picasso's guernica analysis

Pablo Picasso(1881, Malaga, Spain – 1973,Mougins, France)

“Picasso is a painter, so am I; [...] Picasso is a Spaniard, so am I; Picasso is a communist, neither am I.”

"I have joined a family, and like all families, it's full of shit"

“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”

Pablo Picasso chose to use this bombing of the town of Guernica as the theme for a very large painting.

The painting is almost the size of one wall of your classroom. It is done in black, grey, and white.

The images are startling. Picasso tried to be secretive about

the painting’s meaning…but we have clues about why he included certain drawings.

He had made drawings earlier where he did explain their meanings…

Guernica took months to paint. It was displayed in Paris. Let’s take a look at some of the symbolism…

The Bull in the painting is a symbol of Spain. The bull “observes” the destruction in front of him.

The fallen warrior is from the legend of Parsifal—whose sword breaks in half at the crucial moment of battle.

The fallen warrior is also laid out in a crucifix position…

The slashes on the horse are representative of newsprint—the newspaper that lists those who have died.

The light in the middle of the painting may mean violence…

There are terrible images—a woman holding a dead child.

A person burning in a fire…

Some say that Picasso painted an open door so that he could “escape” from the violence.

And what about Guernica?—well, after it was showed in Paris, it was seen in other places, then it was sent to New York City, where it remained.

BUT IT WAS NOT RETURNED TO SPAIN!!

Picasso said it should only return to Spain when Franco died. When Franco died, the canvas was rolled up and sent back to Spain.

In 1981, Guernica was finally sent back to Spain. There it can be seen today…a masterpiece of modern painting.

The image is still used today to protest war and the destruction that war brings…