Picasso’s Guernica

Decrying the Brutality of War for 65 Years

...the horrific pain of the attack because Guernica’s powerful message is expressed through basic human emotions, rather than in political or historical terms. I believe the mural has resonated throughout its 65+ year existence because of its emotional impact.  No matter what happens in the world — Japan bombing Pearl Harbor, the Oklahoma bombing, September 11, the U.S. bombing of Iraq — someone experiences the exact emotions expressed in Picasso’s masterpiece.  The tapestry at the U.N. should make anyone considering war feel uncomfortable because that pain will be inflicted on others as a result of those decisions. 

Perhaps, as was suggested by some of the information I gathered, Franco’s motivation for collaborating with the Nazis on their attack of Guernica was primarily to take control of the region’s vast resources. However, he must have been fully aware that complete devastation of the Basque political and cultural epicenter made a statement about his total disregard for human rights and individual freedoms. Certainly, the U.S. could point to 911 as a parallel example of such an attack. However, I think we also need to consider that U.S. acts of aggression are viewed by others as statements about our disregard for their ways of life and traditions.

Finally, American cultural aspects that relate to Guernica have less to do with art and more to do with politics.

In the U.S., we have iconic antiwar symbols that mostly refer to the Vietnam War: the peace symbol, Woodstock, even individuals such as Bob Dylan or Martin Luther King, Jr.  I was unable to find any similar cultural representation in American art. Two  examples of American art with similar themes might be Eddie Adams’ photo of a Viet Cong execution, which is a world renowned image relaying the brutality of war, or Andy Warhol’s We Kill for Peace poster.  I find that viewing Picasso’s Guernica elicits the same emotional reaction as the Adams’ photo, taken on February 1, 1968.  I don’t have a strong emotional reaction to the Warhol poster, but it makes a strong statement.

However, unlike these images, Picasso used no guns, no military, and no actual war scenes in his mural.  His decision to depict the emotional reactions of townspeople and animals, his use of the black, white, and gray color schemes, as well as images such as light and flowers, communicates the message and leaves it open to interpretation for events beyond the bombing of Guernica. I also find it quite amazing that his mural was created more than 30 years prior to the others and remains the most powerful antiwar statement in the history of modern art.

Questions #4 and #5 (continued)

Question #4: How do I interpret the information?

Question #5: What did I learn about Spanish culture?

This project has been a crash course about Spain’s history and politics, as well as a study of Picasso and the culture of the Basque people, who place a high value on freedom and traditional customs. Through this project I also learned about the history of the Basques, which will help me to better understand current news events relating to them.

The Basques in Guernica inspired Picasso’s antiwar masterpiece, and they paid the highest possible price. I have a deeper understanding that Guernica keeps alive the memory of that historical civilian attack, in addition to serving as a voice for war-torn people throughout modern history.  

Picasso’s Guernica is as relevant today as it was in 1937. I believe I learned to look beyond its significance as a world-renowned work of art and appreciate its importance as an aspect of Spanish culture. Created in response to the horrors of fascism, Guernica was engaged in the fight to defeat Franco and yet unable to travel to Spain for nearly 45 years, until the return of a democratic government. During that time, the people of Spain endured a brutal civil war and were forced to live under a dictator, unable to enjoy basic freedoms.  Guernica’s arrival in Spain brings the story full-circle. 

For Spain, the historical, political, and cultural elements of Guernica will always be woven tightly together.  It’s through these events that Spanish culture has given the world a profound statement against the brutality of war.