One of the most powerful antiwar artworks in the world is
Gurenica by Pablo Picasso,the monument panel is display in Madrid, Spain .It was
created in 1937 in Paris in response to Spanish civil war. This war begins in
1936 when group of right-wing Generals launched military coup against the legally
elected government of 2nd Spanish Republic. At significantly military disadvantage,this government realize heavily on cultural forums to ensure its defense, and that’s why Guernica comes in.Pablo Picasso paints Guernica in response to commission by
the government for large scale mural painting which is meant to be center piece
for the Spanish pavilion in the 1937 world’s fair. This was the golden opportunity
for the government to really to get international support for its cause .Before
1937 Picasso kept out of politics,the Spanish civil war really is the catalyst for his political engagement and Guernica is his first
manifestation on the world stage.
Picasso was eager to show his support for the republic but
he really struggles with findings a subject.For him, art is political weapon and
he finally find an inspiration when he reads news in the French press of the
bombing of the Basque Village of Guernica on April 26, 1937. This was particularly atrocious crime in Spanish
civil war. Guernica was the spiritual capital of the Basque country and it had
absolutely no military or strategic importance and its was bombed by the Nazist and
fascist aviation at the behest of nationalist forces on marked day to ensure
maximum number of civilian casualties.
Picasso upon learning news about this
bombing embarks on the series of carefully cataloged and dated preliminary
paintings and drawing that ultimately added in his master piece. Guernica is simply representation of tragedy and devastation of bombing on larger scale through
several main characters a horse ,a bull, a warrior and several women including
a woman holding a dead child and these characters are inspired
by various sources including Spanish culture.
artwork 👍
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