Guernica
Factual Information:
Artist: PABLO PICASSO
Period: 1937
Period: 1937
General Information:
This cubist painting was an important painting marking an important historical event in Spain. The painting shows the chaos and human grief over the bombing of Guernica, a Spanish town regarded as the northern bastion of the Republican resistance movement. The town was bombed by Nazi bombers acting for the benefit of Francisco Franco, who the Nazi party supported. The painting itself devolves most objects into simplistic fashions, something normally done for Cubism works of art. In the artwork, several people are running away in fear with horrified expressions, as well as several animals reacting in fear from the bombing. In the far left side of the painting, a mother grieves over a dead child. The painting itself does not reference the event, as there are no bombs or anything that might show an attack on these people, but rather it shows the human emotion behind the attack, focusing on that instead.
Why This Artwork?
This painting was chosen because of the representation of the cubist style as well as the massive attention it brought to the Spanish Civil war conflicts, showing the power of art to influence people.