How Picasso’s Guernica shed light on the Spanish Civil War
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) is, to this day, one of the world’s most famous Spanish painters, usually recognised as the Founder of Cubism and Inventor of the Collage. Apart from his artistic contributions however, painter Pablo Picasso also played an important role in changing the perception of Spanish and European History, especially showing the world the cruel truth of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). We can see this in one of his most famous paintings, Guernica (1937).
Guernica tells the story of a Basque city in the north of Spain that was heavily bombed and attacked by Mussolini and Hitler’s air forces during the Spanish Civil War. This impressively large cubist piece (349.3 cm x 776.6 cm) shows the unfair reality of the Spanish people. It shows the suffering and the despair of a mother holding her lifeless baby, of a dismembered soldier, of chaos and horror. The black and white and print fragments that form the painting give the impression of a newspaper article, and to most art critics, Guernica is indeed narrating the dreadful event that took place as part of the Spanish Civil War.
The project was originally commissioned by the Spanish Republic government who wanted to raise awareness of the dangerous situation that the country was in. When Picasso accepted the commission in January 1937, he didn’t have a clear idea of what was going to come out of his brush, but everything changed after the events of Guernica in April later that year, when the Nazi air forces targeted a market day full of civilians. Newspapers in Spain were covered with images of the destroyed city, but they had little effect in comparison to what Picasso achieved with his masterpiece.
Guernica was first on view to the public in the Paris Expo, which was not coincidental since France was one of the nations that joined forces with the Spanish Republic government against fascism. However, despite the Spanish government’s effort and the attempt from some of the neighbouring nations to save democracy, the conflict ended two years later in 1939, leading to the authoritarian fascist regime of general Francisco Franco (1907–1975).
Nevertheless, Guernica’s life and strong political effect didn’t end there. Even after the war was over, Guernica travelled around the world in between 1939 and 1952, being exhibited in New York, in different institutions around the US, Brazil and Europe, and shedding light on the tragic truth that the Spanish Civil War was never just an internal political conflict.
After its tour, Guernica remained in New York until 1981, awaiting Franco’s death to be returned to its motherland, as per Picasso’s wishes. It was then brought back to Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, where it has been visited by over a million visitors a year ever since.
Words by: Laura Mejias
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