Analysis

Guernica

On April 26, 1937, the town of Guernica was the victim of an aerial bombing at the hand of German and Italian war planes, whose soul intention was to “terrorize the population and break the spirit of the Basque resistance” (Hart). Even though during this time Picasso was living in Paris, he still held strong ties to his Spanish homeland. Picasso was commissioned to create a painting that would be used as “the centerpiece for the Spanish Pavilion” during the World's Fair (Guernica: Testimony of War). For months he halfheartedly forced himself to try and complete a piece, but when word got to Picasso of Spain’s tragedy, he immediately scrapped his first piece and began passionately working on Guernica. Once finished, he allowed for his work to be sent on a brief world tour, sharing with the people the horrors that came along with war and expressing his opposition to the raging Spanish Civil War that plagued his country. Due to the shocking subject matter and execution of the painting it soon became a highly popular piece and is seen as one of the most well-known and effective modern anti-war works of art. It is through this tragic back story behind the piece and Picasso’s passion to share with the world how he felt about the war that gives Guernica the ability to evoke emotion within the viewer.

The subject matter itself and how it is represented within the canvas both play very important roles on the emotions emitted from the painting. Guernica is a highly in-depth and detailed work of art that includes many contradicting symbols within its composition. Starting from the right, a woman on fire appears to be running from a building that is also covered in flames. The look of pleading terror as she runs with both arms thrown in the air evokes a sense of empathy in the viewer for the pain that she is surely enduring, and gives a visual representation of the suffering that the bombing caused. Through the window of this inflamed building emerges the arm and grief stricken face of a woman holding with her outstretched hand a lantern which is said to “[thrust] forth a light to illuminate the horror” (Kleiner). Below this lantern wielding woman is the slouched figure of another woman. Her head and eyes are both turned up towards the lamp which suggests a feeling of disbelief and confusion. To the right of this hunched over woman is a wounded horse trampling a fallen soldier. The horse’s body is contorted and its face portrays pain and panic, perhaps due to the spear plunged into its side. The suffering of the horse could be a way of Picasso comparing the animistic characteristics of war. The man beneath the horse is seen lying with his arms sprawled far apart. The man’s right hand and left arm appears to be wounded, possibly an illusion to Christ’s martyrdom, and he is still grasping onto a broken sword. Just above this man is seated a wailing woman holding a dead child. Her head is thrown back and her mouth is open in an expression of intense remorse for the death of the youth, further expressing the idea that war affects everyone and that during the raids “women and children were indiscriminately cut-down as they fled their crumbling buildings” (Hart). The dead child could also symbolize the death of innocents. Standing above the sorrowing woman is a bull shown in several perspectives. According to art historian Patricia Failing, “Sometimes the bull is seen as a symbol of Spain” (Guernica: Testimony of War) and could symbolize that although there is mass chaos, the bull, or Spain, is still standing strong. Above the whole pandemonium of the scene is a light bulb encircled in a beam of light, which could be thought to symbolize the sun, which generates an almost hopeful aspect into the painting. A conflicting possibility is that the light bulb itself illuminating the war scene could represent how technology negatively impacts human life. The concrete imagery of the subjects within the painting creates a realistic representation of the impacts of war, while the more hidden symbolism gives the painting a deeper meaning.

            One key way Picasso established the feeling of bleak horror in the scene was through the subtle elements and principles of the design. Standing 11 feet 5 inches by 25 feet 6 inches, the size of the painting itself is done on an enormous canvas, creating an in your face and inescapably up close view of the scene. The use of the sharp angles of the cubist techniques in this piece creates a sharp and broken look to the subjects, reflecting the broken and dismantled state of the town and all those who resided in it. Picasso's work was known to often fit in with either his blue period or his rose period, but in the case of Guernica, he breaks this mold. The rose period had a warm color scheme of pinks; the blue had a sad, cold color scheme of blues. Instead, the piece was done in a monochromatic color scheme of shades and hues of black and white. The absence of color creates stark contrast between the angular shapes that make up the work and create a dark and depressing feel while highlighting the horrors of the scene. Without color, it is much easier to establish what is happening in the work of art itself. The multiple perspectives that are seen throughout this piece such as the unnatural frontal eyes on the profile view of the fallen soldier, creates a chaotic and distorted feel. The use of the newspaper ties the painting to the media and the global aspect of war, and also creates texture and interest within the piece. When looking at the painting, the elongated shape of the canvas forces the viewer to look at the painting horizontally from one side to the other and take in one horror after another. Together, these subtle elements and artistic principles Picasso chose to incorporate into his painting help to define the feelings of remorse and sadness that he aimed to dispense with this particular work.

            The Guernica was not just an impacting piece for its time, but went on to become a universal protest to the destruction of war and objection against acts of mass violence. Although Guernica was originally met with mixed reviews, it became “one of this century's most unsettling indictments of war” (Guernica: Testimony of War). Guernica was not painted to portray the specific bombing incident itself, but was created to show the universal anguish and tribulation that all war inevitably condones. The main reason behind the tour Guernica embarked on after completion was to “raise awareness for the republican cause during the civil war” (Fuchs). After this tour, “the painting was sent to the United States to raise funds and support for Spanish refugees” (Guernica Undergoes Its Last Thorough Exam in Madrid). Not too many years later, Guernica continued its protest against war during the Vietnam War when “the room containing the painting became the site of occasional anti-war vigils” (Guernica Undergoes Its Last Thorough Exam in Madrid."). Professor of Art History, Patricia Failing, states that many who viewed the painting “were very impressed by the power of the painting,” both due to the fact it was done by Picasso, and because it “connected with a very dramatic event,” and “the idea of sending Guernica on tour for the cause, basically as propaganda and fund-raising, seemed to be a reasonable sort of idea" (Picasso in Exile). Guernica went far beyond just resisting the Spanish Civil War, but went on to affect and shock people around the world while promoting the same ideals of war resistance with its strong universal anti-war message for decades.

            Guernica has been an important and meaningful piece since it was created in 1937.

The dark background that the painting was influenced by gave it a universally somber tone.

The combination of the subject matter and symbolism of the painting, the elements and principles of design, and the staple the piece has had in society all back the idea that Guernica is an emotionally influential artwork. 

Bibliography

Fuchs, Dale. "Global Touring Takes Its Toll on Picasso Picture." The Guardian. N.p., 20 July 2008. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/jul/21/art.spain>.

"Guernica in Exile." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/guernica/glevel_1/4_exile.html>.

"Guernica: Testimony of War." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/guernica_nav/main_guerfrm.html>.

"Guernica Undergoes Its Last Thorough Exam in Madrid." Guernica Undergoes Its Last Thorough Exam in Madrid. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. <http://artdaily.com/news/25234/Guernica-Undergoes-its-Last-Thorough-Exam-in-Madrid>.

Hart, David. "Guernica." Guernica. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/arth200/guernica.html>.

Kleiner, Fred S., and Helen Gardner. "Modernism in Europe and America, 1900 to 1945." Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History. Boston, MA: Thomson Higher Education, 2009. 850-51. Print.