Introduction
Pablo Picasso is probably the most celebrated artist in history. Picasso created so much art that transformed the 20th-century art movement. He was very creative, and he was not afraid to break tradition as he experimented with new styles, ideas, media, and content. Picasso created Guernica as a political statement; the painting portrays the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts on innocent civilians.
Historical Information
Picasso was born October 25, 1881. His father was an art teacher, and he took after him from an early age. Picasso’s family moved to France and Spain and finally settled in Paris. Picasso experimented with some styles such as the “blue” movement in 1900 and in 1901, he created pieces like the Death of Casagemas and Absinthe Drinker belonged in the blue movement.
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Guernica was created in 1937 when Picasso had matured as an artist. Guernica is a war painting; it is a visual account of the horrific effects of war on the civilian life (Simonton, 2007). In the 1930s, Spain experienced political unrests. At the same period, developed nations were embroiled in the destructive World War II. In April 1937, the German air force bombed the Spanish village of Guernica, killing 1600 civilians. Picasso created Guernica as a political commentary on the devastating effects of war. Movement
Picasso experimented with various movements. In fact, he is credited for starting the cubism movement. However, when he created Guernica, he was experimenting with the surrealism movement. The surrealist movement by created by Andre Breton t in 1924, and it quickly gained popularity in the 1920s. Surrealism was a chaotic approach to art; the paintings had elements of surprise.
Surrealism moved away from rationality and gave artists the freedom to use their creativity and imagination. Picasso began experimenting with surrealism in 1927. Guernica is a chaotic representation of the effects of war, hence the content of the painting seem illogical, and the viewer has to pay close attention to make sense of it. The painting is a mural-sized (3.5 meters tall and 7.8 meters wide) oil painting that viewers get lost in when trying to analyze its content.
Content and the Underlying Concepts
Since Guernica is a mural-sized painting, it has a lot of content. On the left side of the painting, there are two dominant pictures; a bull on top of a woman who appears to be holding a dead child in her arms, and a picture of a human skull. At the center of the painting, there is a horse that appears to be in excruciating pain because a sharp object stabbed the horse's torso. Below the horse, there is a dead (dismembered) soldier still holding on to a rifle. On the right side, there is a female who is frightened and is running from the dark wall at the right corner. The female has a floating arm, which is holding a lamp right next to the wall.
While Picasso was inspired by Guernica bombing, the underlying concept of the painting is destructive nature of war. The characters in the art are either dead or extremely wounded. It is worth noting that Picasso used symbolism to express his message. The bull and the horse are significant characters in the Spanish culture where the bull could be a symbol of Spain, and the horse represents the people of Guernica. Picasso wanted to show the destructive effects of war and the resilience of the Spanish people (Lesser, 2011).
Personal View
Guernica is an interesting painting; as a surrealist painting with a bit of cubism influence, it is hard to make sense of the painting. Nonetheless, the art would not have the same impact it has if Picasso used another style. Picasso made it easier to interpret it by naming it Guernica. The painting shows the intense suffering that civilians face during wars. I believe that the painting has remained relevant, not because of the stylistic features, but because it is an anti-war painting. This painting is still relatable today because of the many brutal wars in today’s society that continue to inflict pain on civilians.
Elements of Art in Guernica
Guernica is a linear painting. There are many lines in the painting such that the viewer can get confused. Picasso painted sharp edges on the shapes in the painting instead of using light and color to differentiate objects. There are actual lines that are visible, and others are implied. The chaotic nature of the painting was created by the jagged lines and the sharp lines (Lazzari & Schlesier, 2011).
Picasso uses light to contrast the content of the painting. The faces of the women, the bull, and the horses are painted in a lighter tone to make it easy to identify them amidst the chaos in the painting. Further, the shift from light to dark lacks flow such that it becomes difficult to tell what is back and in front. The texture of the painting is smooth because Picasso wanted the viewer to focus on the message, but the horse has some texture because of the newsprint effect.
The painting also has a monochromatic color scheme, which is made up of gray, black, and white patterns. At the center, the painting creates an illusion of newsprint and the color brings the subject matter to life. The use of space in Guernica is ambiguous as there are multiple viewpoints which is attributed to Picasso’s cubist style. Images overlap and obscure each other, making it hard to distinguish the shapes. The shapes are chaotic and the subjects are separated by lines that overlap at some point.
Conclusion
Guernica is one of the most dramatic paintings of the 20th century. The painting is a vivid description of war, particularly the Guernica bombing. Picasso used surrealism and cubism influence to create an intriguing painting that viewers get lost in. The viewers can feel the anguish and pain of the subjects in the painting. The painting teaches that war is an injustice that kills and wounds civilians and destroys societies.
References
Lazzari, M., & Schlesier, D. (2011). Exploring art: A global, thematic approach . Cengage Learning.
Lesser, C. (2011). The Guernica Effect: The Power and Legacy of Picasso's Guernica. Undergraduate Honors Theses, Paper 376.
Simonton, D. K. (2007). Rejoinder: Picasso's Guernica creativity as a Darwinian process: Definitions, clarifications, misconceptions, and applications. Creativity Research Journal , 19 (4), 381-394.
