GUERNICA: Painting by Pablo Picasso
Guernica is painting by one of the most famous painters of the 20th century Pablo Ruiz Picasso. He was born in the town of Malaga in Spain in 1881. Picasso was taught by his father, who was a traditional academic artist and instructor of art in the school of crafts, in media Oil and Pencil.
To be able to understand the painting one must learn about the history of Spain and circumstances that urged Picasso to create the masterpiece.
Spain abolished monarchy to establish democracy in the year 1931. The Republican Party came into power and formed the first democratically elected government. This system, however, didn’t last for long and soon came into conflict from the nationalist insurgents led by Francisco Franco. They aimed to restore monarchy with aid from the fascist regimes of Hitler in Nazi Germany and Mussolini in Italy. Spain was divided into two parts, the Northern part, under the Democratically elected government and, the Southern region, dominated by the nationalists. The conflict led to the Spanish Civil War in 1936.
Guernica is a small town in Spain. Being located on a major estuary, it was an important dock. During the Civil war, it was the scene of bombing by Luftwaffe (German air force) as requested by Francisco Franco.
Picasso witnessed his homeland being ravaged and torn by war and fascism and was disturbed deeply by the political atmosphere of that time. Being a staunch believer in Democracy and socialism, Picasso overtly supported Republican Spain. He painted Guernica as a tribute to the ordeals suffered by the innocent civilians.
Picasso has been successful to illustrate the situation of the town of Guernica. Most of the figures in the painting are females. The soldier’s dead body symbolises the fall of the partisans of Guernica. The scene of the painting depicts an animal market which was being held during the afternoon when the town was bombarded, a horse, a bull and a chicken are shown. A grotesque figure of a female wails as she watches her house burning down on the right. Another woman is shown holding her dead child in her arms.
The painting sends an anti-war message and highlights the importance of freedom and creativity for humankind. The political situation of the world is not very different from how it was in the 1930s, there has been a rise of anti-democratic and authoritarian politics, not just in Asia but also in the west. I think that artists should, therefore, like Picasso, take a firm stand against forces that aim to crush human creativity and freedom. The artist should fulfil his/her social and political obligations by creating artworks that work to humanise the world and challenge injustice and oppression.
