Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, Research Paper Example

The painting titled simply Guernica is one of Pablo Picasso’s most famous works. Guernica was created as a mural, and it is over eleven feet tall and more than 25 feet wide. It is painted on canvas with oil paint, and was completed in 1937. Guernica was inspired by real-life events that took place in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. This painting holds a significant place in the world of 20^th century art; in a century marked by two World Wars and advances in military technology that led to the deaths of tens of millions of people, Guernica serves a stark reminder of the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of one of the world’s most famous artists.

Pablo Picasso is, of course, one of the most famous artists of the 20^th century, and indeed of all human history. His exploration and outright invention of different styles was enormously influential during his lifetime and continues to influence new generations of artists to this day. Art historians have categorized different periods of his work according to the stylistic approach and choice of media Picasso used in different times throughout his life. Among the most well-known of the styles Picasso helped to create and define is Cubism, wherein forms and figures are rendered according to their basic, underlying shapes[1]. Elements of Cubism would continue to emerge in his later styles; in the aftermath of the First World War Picasso was among the many artists who explored surrealism, though Picasso’s approach to surrealism was markedly different from those of other artists. Guernica is among Picasso’s most famous surrealist works, though it contains elements of his earlier Cubist approach as well as reflecting his then-current interest in classicism[2].

Picasso was commissioned to paint a mural for the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exposition in 1937. The artist labored for weeks as he searched for inspiration, trying to come up with an idea that would adequately and appropriately reflect the spirit of his native country of Spain[3]. Sadly, inspiration came in the form of tragedy, when military forces led by Francisco Franco and aided by Germany, led a bombing campaign against Basque resistance forces in the village of Guernica in Northern Spain. As news of the attack was heard around the world, outrage against Franco and his actions began to spread. After reading a detailed account of the events in Guernica, Picasso scrapped the initial sketches he had created for the Paris Exposition, and began work on an entirely new project in response to the attack in his native country. Although Guernica was inspired by the real-life events in Spain, Picasso had not visited his homeland since 1934, and would never return to Spain in his lifetime.

The sheer size and scope of Guernica serves to reinforce the painting’s dramatic effect. Although there are elements of Cubism and surrealism apparent in the stylistic approach Picasso took to creating Guernica, the images of people and animals rendered within it are distinct and clear, reflecting the artist’s interest in classicism. At the center of the painting is a wounded, fallen horse, its mouth open in a scream. Beneath the horse a severed human arm holding a broken sword is visible. All around the horse, human forms are visible; like the horse, each of the human figures appears to be crying out in pain and fear. The figure to the right of the horse appears to be a man with his arms extended upward to the sky, as if he is calling out for help. To the left of the horse the figures of several women can be seen; beneath them lies what looks to be a fallen soldier.

In the upper-left section of Guernica appears the image of the head of a bull. Interpretations about what this bull represents vary, and Picasso himself was hesitant to apply a specific interpretation of his own. On his last trip to Spain in 1934 Picasso witnessed the famous running of the bulls in Pamplona[4], and it is possible that the image of the bull in Guernica simply represents the nation of Spain. Other interpretations include the suggestion that the bull is actually a Minotaur, which was a common image used by many artists in the surrealist era of the early 20^th century[5]. Whatever the interpretation, the bull in Guernica adds to the tableau of living creatures and people affected by the horrors of war. At the top of the painting, looking down at the terrible scene below is a single eye with the image of a light bulb where the pupil should be. As is the case with the image of the bull, the image of the electrified eye is open to interpretation; one possibility is that the eyeball-with-light bulb represents the influence of technology and how it affected and amplified mankind’s capacity to kill.

When Guernica was first exhibited to the public at the Paris Exposition, reaction to it was mixed. While some critics were quite impressed by the painting, others complained that it was too graphic and hopeless, or simply did not live up to the artist’s earlier works[6]. Over subsequent decades, however, Guernica’s reputation would grow, and it is now one of the world’s most revered works of art. The painting remained the property of Picasso for the remainder of his life, though it was sent out on multiple tours of museums around the world in the decades following its creation[7]. When Picasso died, he left Guernica in the hands of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York, though he made it clear that he wished for it to be sent to Spain for permanent display once the political situation in his home country had moved beyond the fascist dictatorship of the Franco era[8]. While Picasso stipulated that the painting should not be sent to Spain until that nation had a republic government, the adoption of a constitutional monarchy several years after his death was seen by the new government of Spain as an appropriate time to request that Guernica be handed over by MOMA. Picasso died in 1973, but it was not until 1981 that MOMA would relinquish Guernica to Spain. Guernica was held and displayed in several different Spanish museums over the next several years; it currently resides in a museum in the city of Madrid, in a building that was built specifically for the purpose of displaying and providing security for the famous painting[9].

Although Guernica was painted in response to the specific events in Spain in 1937, it has come to represent much more. Among the venues where a reproduction of the painting was displayed was the United Nations building, where it loomed over the inner lobby for several years. Picasso painted Guernica between the first and second world wars, and the political and social aftermath of World War II may have served to reinforce the stark drama of the images presented in the work. Despite the initial cool reception Guernica received, it has become an image known by people around the world, and the timeless depiction of war presented by Picasso continues to resonate with all those who view it.

Works Cited

Cantelupe, Eugene. “Picasso’s Guernica.” Art Journal 31.1 (1971): 18-21. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.

“Guernica: Testimony of War.” PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.

Richards, Jessie. “Picasso’s Guernica, The Masterpiece of the 20th Century.” The Art World. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.

Van Hensbergen, G. Guernica: The Biography of a Twentieth-Century Icon. New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2004. Print.

[1] Cantalupe 21

[2] Eugene Cantalupe, “Picasso’s Guernica.” Art Journal 31.1 (1971), 18

[3] “Guernica: Testimony of War.” PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d.

[4] G. Van Hensenberg, Guernica: The Biography of a Twentieth-Century Icon. New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2004, 8

[5] Eugene Cantalupe, “Picasso’s Guernica.” Art Journal 31.1 (1971), 18

[6] “Guernica: Testimony of War.” PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d.

[7] “Guernica: Testimony of War.” PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d.

[8] Jessie Richards, “Picasso’s Guernica, The Masterpiece of the 20th Century.” n.d.

[9] Richards, Jessie, n.d.