Guernica

Pablo Picasso, 1937

Oil on canvas

349 × 776 cm, 137.4 × 305.5 in

Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid

Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso, depicting the Nazi German bombing of Guernica, Spain, by twenty-eight bombers, on April 26, 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. The attack killed between 250 and 1,600 people, and many more were injured. Image File history File links PicassoGuernica. ... Picasso redirects here. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mona Lisa, Oil on wood panel painting by Leonardo da Vinci. ... The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) is the official name Spains national museum of 20th century art (informally shortened to the Museo Reina Sofía or Queen Sofia Museum). ... This article is about the Spanish capital. ... For other uses , see Painting (disambiguation). ... Picasso redirects here. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The bombing of Guernica was an aerial attack on April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War by planes of the German Luftwaffe Condor Legion and subordinate Italian Fascists from the Corpo Truppe Volontarie expeditionary force organized as Aviazione Legionaria. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823. ...

The Spanish government commissioned Pablo Picasso to paint a large mural for the Spanish display at the Paris International Exposition (the 1937 World's Fair in Paris). On April 26, 1937 a fleet of Nazi German bombers bombed Guernica, Spain, killing between 250 and 1600 people. This tragedy inspired Picasso to paint "Guernica" for the large mural for which he had been commissioned. Within 15 days of the attack, Pablo Picasso began painting his monumental mural. "Guernica" became a highly acclaimed work of international fame following a brief stint wherein "Guernica" was paraded around the world; Picasso, through "Guernica", brought the Spanish civil war to the world's attention. "Guernica" epitomizes the tragedies of war and the suffering war inflicts upon countless individuals. This monumental work has eclipsed the bounds of a single time and place, becoming perpetual embodiment of peace. Worlds Fair is any of various large expositions held since the mid-19th century. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Flag of Gernika-Lumo. ...

The painting

Guernica is of remarkable size, solely black and white, 3.5 metre (11 ft) tall and 7.8 metre (23 ft) wide, a mural painted in oil. Picasso was not interested in creating the non-representational abstraction typical of some of his contemporaries, such as Kazimir Malevich when painting Guernica. This large mural presents a scene of death, violence, brutality, suffering, and helplessness without portraying their immediate causes. The choice to paint in black and white conveys the chronological nearness of a newspaper photograph and the lifelessness war affords. Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (Russian: , Polish: , Ukrainian Казимір Северинович Малевич, German: ), (February 23, 1878 – May 15, 1935) was a painter and art theoretician, pioneer of geometric abstract art and one of the most important members of the Russian avant-garde. ...

Guernica depicts suffering people, animals, and buildings wrenched by violence and chaos.

• The overall scene is within a room, where, at an open end on the left, a wide-eyed bull stands over a woman grieving over a dead child in her arms.

• The centre is occupied by a horse falling in agony as it had just been run through by a spear or javelin. The shape of a human skull forms the horse's nose and upper teeth.

• Two "hidden" images formed by the horse appear in Guernica (illustrated to the right):
  • A human skull is overlayed on the horse's body.
  • A bull appears to gore the horse from underneath. The bull's head is formed mainly by the horse's entire front leg which has the knee on the ground. The leg's knee cap forms the head's nose. A horn appears within the horse's breast.

• Under the horse is a dead, apparently dismembered soldier, his hand on a severed arm still grasps a shattered sword from which a flower grows.

• A light bulb blazes in the shape of an eye over the suffering horse's head (the bare bulb of the torturer's cell.)

• To the upper right of the horse, a frightened female figure, who seems to be witnessing the scenes before her, appears to have floated into the room through a window. Her arm, also floating in, carries a flame-lit lamp.

• From the right, an awe-struck woman staggers towards the center below the floating female figure. She looks up blankly into the blazing light bulb.

• Daggers that suggest screaming replace the tongues of the bull, grieving woman, and horse.

• A bird, possibly a dove, stands on a shelf behind the bull in panic.

• On the far right, a figure with arms raised in terror is entrapped by fire from above and below.

• A dark wall with an open door defines the right end of the mural.

Symbolism in Guernica

Interpretations of Guernica vary widely and contradict one another. This extends, for example, to the mural's two dominant elements -- the bull and the horse. Art historian Patricia Failing said, "The bull and the horse are important characters in Spanish culture. Picasso himself certainly used these characters to play many different roles over time. This has made the task of interpreting the specific meaning of the bull and the horse very tough. Their relationship is a kind of ballet that was conceived in a variety of ways throughout Picasso's career."

When pressed to explain them in Guernica, Picasso said, "...this bull is a bull and this horse is a horse... If you give a meaning to certain things in my paintings it may be very true, but it is not my idea to give this meaning. What ideas and conclusions you have got I obtained too, but instinctively, unconsciously. I make the painting for the painting. I paint the objects for what they are." ^[1]

In "The Dream and Lie of Franco," a series of narrative sketches also created for the World's Fair, Franco is depicted as a monster that first devours his own horse and later does battle with an angry bull. Work on these illustrations began before the bombing of Guernica, and four additional panels were added, three of these relate directly to the Guernica mural. // Franco may refer to: Franco is a common surname in Portuguese and Spanish which derives from the word Frank, in reference to the Germanic tribe of the Franks, who invaded the modern-day France during the Migration period[1]. Political figures Francisco Franco, Spanish head of state. ...

Picasso said as he worked on the mural:

History

1937 Paris International Exhibition

Guernica was initially exhibited in July 1937 at the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exposition^[3]. The Pavilion, which was financed by the Spanish Republican government at the time of civil war, was built to exhibit the Spanish government's struggle for existence contrary to the Exposition's technology theme. The Pavilion's entrance presented an enormous photographic mural of Republican soldiers accompanied by the slogan: The Soviet pavilion was crowned with a gigantic statue of Labourer and Kolkhoz Woman, by Vera Mukhina. ...

We are fighting for the essential unity of Spain.

We are fighting for the integrity of Spanish soil.

We are fighting for the independence of our country and for

the right of the Spanish people to determine their own destiny.

The display of Guernica was accompanied by a poem by Paul Éluard, and the pavilion displayed works by Joan Miró and Alexander Calder, both of whom were sympathetic to the Republican cause. It appears that this entire article has been copied and pasted from http://www. ... Joan Miró i Ferrà (April 20, 1893 – December 25, 1983) was a Catalan (Spanish) painter, sculptor, and ceramist born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain to the family of a goldsmith and watchmaker. ... For other persons named Alexander Calder, see Alexander Calder (disambiguation). ...

Post-Exhibition experiences

After the Paris Exhibition, the painting went on tour, first to the Scandinavian capitals, then to London, where it arrived on September 30, 1938, the same day the Munich Agreement was signed by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. The London exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery included preparatory studies and was organised by Roland Penrose with Clement Atlee addressing a public meeting. It then returned briefly to France; after the victory of Francisco Franco in Spain, the painting was sent to the United States to raise funds and support for Spanish refugees. At Picasso's request the safekeeping of the piece was entrusted to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City. It formed the centerpiece of a Picasso retrospective at MOMA which opened six weeks after the Nazi invasion of Poland. ^[4][5] For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the annual global security meeting held in Munich, see Munich Conference on Security Policy The Munich Agreement (Czech: ; Slovak: ; German: ) was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland Crisis among the major powers of Europe after a conference held in Munich, Germany in 1938 and signed in the early hours of... The Whitechapel Gallery, founded 1901, was one of the first publicly-funded galleries for temporary exhibitions in London. ... Sir Roland Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984)1 was an English artist, historian and poet. ... Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, FRS (January 3, 1883 - October 8, 1967) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951. ... Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (December 4, 1892 - November 20, 1975), commonly known as Francisco Franco (pronounced ) or Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was leader of Spain from October 1936, as regent of Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975. ... This article is about the museum in New York City. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... For the Soviet Unions military action against Poland under the same alliance, see Soviet invasion of Poland (1939). ...

Between 1939 and 1952, the painting traveled extensively in the United States; between 1953 and 1956 it was shown in Brazil, at the first-ever Picasso retrospective in Milan, Italy, and then in numerous other major European cities, before returning to MOMA for a retrospective celebrating Picasso's seventy-fifth birthday. It then went on to Chicago and Philadelphia. By this time, concern for the state of the painting resulted in a decision to keep it in one place: a room on MOMA's third floor, where it was accompanied by several of Picasso's preliminary studies and some of Dora Maar's photos. The studies and photos were often loaned for other exhibitions, but until 1981, Guernica itself remained at MOMA. ^[5] For other uses, see Milan (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ...

While living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II, Picasso suffered harassment from the Gestapo. One officer allegedly asked him, upon seeing a photo of Guernica in his apartment, "Did you do that?" Picasso responded, "No, you did."^[6]

During the Vietnam War, the room containing the painting became the site of occasional anti-war vigils. These were usually peaceful and uneventful, but in 1974, Tony Shafrazi — ostensibly protesting Richard Nixon's pardon of William Calley for the latter's actions during the My Lai massacre — defaced the painting with red spray paint, painting the words "KILL LIES ALL"; the paint was relatively easily removed from the varnished surface. ^[7] Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Tony Shafrazi is an Iranian artist, curator and art dealer. ... Nixon redirects here. ... William Laws Calley, Jr. ... The My Lai Massacre ( , approximately ) (Vietnamese: ) was the mass murder of 347 to 504 unarmed citizens of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), mostly civilians and majority of them women and children, conducted by U.S. Army forces on March 16, 1968. ...

As early as 1968, Franco had expressed an interest in having Guernica return to Spain. ^[5] However, Picasso refused to allow this until the Spanish people again enjoyed a republic. He later added other conditions, such as the restoration of "public liberties and democratic institutions". Picasso died in 1973. Franco, ten years Picasso's junior, died two years later, in 1975. After Franco's death, Spain was transformed into a democratic constitutional monarchy, ratified by a new constitution in 1978. However, MOMA were reluctant to give up one of their greatest treasures and argued that a constitutional monarchy did not represent the republic that had been stipulated in Picasso's will as a condition for the painting's return. Under great pressure from a number of observers, MOMA finally ceded the painting to Spain in 1981. The Spanish historian Javier Tusell was one of the negotiators. Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Democracy (disambiguation) and Democratic Party. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A constitutional monarchy or limited monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges an elected or hereditary monarch as head of state, as opposed to an absolute monarchy, where the monarch is not... The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. ...

During the 1970s, it was a symbol for Spaniards of both the end of the Franco regime and of Basque nationalism. The Basque left has repeatedly used imagery from the picture. Political Spain in 1854, after the first Carlist War The Arrano beltza (black eagle) flag is waved by radical Basque nationalists, mainly supporters of ETA and HB, along the Ikurriña and the Navarrese flag as a claim of unity of the Basque lands. ... The Basque National Liberation Movement (Spanish: Movimiento de Liberación Nacional Vasco, MLNV; Basque: Euskal Herri Askapenerako Mugimendua) is an umbrella term that comprises all social, political and military organisations that oribited around the ideas of ETA. The wide variety of organisations and their different levels of belonging to this...

A tiled wall in Gernika claims "Guernica" Gernikara, "The Guernica (painting) to Gernika."

In 1992 the painting was moved from the Museo del Prado to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, both in Madrid, along with about two dozen preparatory works. This action was controversial in Spain, since Picasso's will stated that the painting should be displayed at the Prado. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1153x788, 144 KB)Guernica Gernikara, a Basque language slogan on a tiled wall in Gernika claiming for the installation of Guernica in Gernika. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1153x788, 144 KB)Guernica Gernikara, a Basque language slogan on a tiled wall in Gernika claiming for the installation of Guernica in Gernika. ... Bold text The Museo del Prado is a famous museum and art gallery located in Madrid; the capital of Spain. ... The main entrance The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) is the official name Spains national museum of 20th century art (informally shortened to the Museo Reina Sofía, Queen Sofia Museum, or simply The Sofia). ... This article is about the Spanish capital. ...

However, the move was part of a transfer of all of the Prado's collections of art after the early 19th century to other nearby buildings in the city for reasons of space; the Reina Sofía, which houses the capital's national collection of 20th century art, was the natural place to move it. A special gallery was built at the Reina Sofía to display Picasso's masterpiece to best advantage. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

When first displayed in Spain, the painting was placed at El Casón del Buen Retiro, an annex to the Prado that housed early nineteenth century paintings but had a large enough wall. It was kept behind bullet-proof glass and guarded with machine guns. However, since that time there has never been any attempted vandalism or other security threat to the painting. In its present gallery, the painting has roughly the same protection as any other work at the Reina Sofía. ^[8] A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ...

Basque nationalists have advocated that the picture should be brought to the Basque country^[9], especially after the building of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum. Officials at the Reina Sofía claim^[10] that the huge canvas is now thought to be too fragile to move. Even the staff of the Guggenheim do not see a permanent transfer of the painting as possible, although the Basque government continues to support the possibility of a temporary exhibition in Bilbao. ^[8] Political Spain in 1854, after the first Carlist War The Arrano beltza (black eagle) flag is waved by radical Basque nationalists, mainly supporters of ETA and HB, along the Ikurriña and the Navarrese flag as a claim of unity of the Basque lands. ... The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a modern and contemporary art museum located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. ... La Muy Noble y Muy Leal e Invicta (The most noble and most loyal and undefeated) Location Location of Bilbao in Spain and Biscay Coordinates : , Time zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer : CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Bilbao (Basque) Spanish name Bilbao Nickname El Botxo (the hole) Founded 15...

Guernica at the United Nations

A tapestry copy of Picasso's Guernica is displayed on the wall of the United Nations building in New York City, at the entrance to the Security Council room. It was placed there as a reminder of the horrors of war. Commissioned and donated by Nelson Rockefeller, it is not quite as monochromatic as the original, using several shades of brown. On February 5, 2003 a large blue curtain was placed to cover this work, so that it would not be visible in the background when Colin Powell and John Negroponte gave press conferences at the United Nations. On the following day, it was claimed that the curtain was placed there at the request of television news crews, who had complained that the wild lines and screaming figures made for a bad backdrop, and that a horse's hindquarters appeared just above the faces of any speakers. Diplomats, however, told journalists that the Bush Administration pressured UN officials to cover the tapestry, rather than have it in the background while Powell or other U.S. diplomats argued for war on Iraq. ^[11] This article is about tapestry the textile. ... UN redirects here. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... “Security Council” redirects here. ... Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was an American Vice President, governor of New York State, philanthropist and businessman. ...

Notes

1. ^ ...questions of meaning, part of a series of web pages on Guernica in PBS's Treasures of the World series. Accessed 16 July 2006.
2. ^ Colm Tóibín, The Art of War, The Guardian, April 29, 2006. Accessed online 16 July 2005.
3. ^ Martin, Russell, Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica and the Masterpiece that Changed the World on-line excerpt. Accessed 2 August 2006.
4. ^ Hoberman 2004
5. ^ ^{a b c} Timeline, part of a series of web pages on Guernica in PBS's Treasures of the World series. Accessed 16 July 2006.
6. ^ artdaily.org
7. ^ Hoberman 2004
8. ^ ^{a b} Author interview on Russell Martin's Picasso's War site. Accessed 16 July 2006.
9. ^ Ibarretxe reclama 'para siempre' el 'Guernica', El Mundo, 29 June 2007.
10. ^ El Patronato del Reina Sofía rechaza la cesión temporal del 'Guernica' al Gobierno vasco, El Mundo, 22 June 2006.
11. ^ David Cohen, Hidden Treasures: What's so controversial about Picasso's Guernica?, Slate, February 6, 2003. Accessed 16 July 2006.

Note: Public Broadcasting Services is a broadcaster in Malta. ... Note: Public Broadcasting Services is a broadcaster in Malta. ... El Mundo is the second largest newspaper in Spain, with a circulation of 350,297 copies (2003). ...

References

• On-Line Picasso Project - OPP.37:01.

• Becraft, Melvin E. Picasso's Guernica - Images within Images 3rd Edition PDF download

• Harris, Mark and Becraft, Melvin E. Picasso's Secret Guernica

• Hoberman, J. "Pop and Circumstance". The Nation, December 13, 2004, 22-26.

• PBS On-line supplement to "Treasures of the World" series, "Guernica: Testimony to War" with Guernica timeline.

• Martin, Russell, Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica and the Masterpiece that Changed the World (2002). On-line excerpts link.

• Tóibín, Colm, "The art of war", The Guardian, April 29, 2006.

• Francesconi, Elizabeth, "A Look Inside Picasso's War Images", discourse: An Online Journal by the students of Southern Methodist University, Spring 2006.

• Eugenio Fernández Granell, Picasso's Guernica : the end of a Spanish era (Ann Arbor, Mich. : UMI Research Press, 1981) ISBN 0835712060 9780835712064 9780835712064 0835712060

The Nation logo The Nation is a weekly left-liberal periodical devoted to politics and culture. ... Eugenio Granell Eugenio Granell (born 28 November 1912, La Coruña, Spain, died 24 October 2001) was an artist often described as the last Spanish Surrealist painter. ...

External links

• Guernica for rent in Poem for Rent project.

v • d • e Pablo Picasso
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Artworks	Chicago Picasso · Dora Maar au Chat · Femme aux Bras Croisés · Garçon à la pipe · Guernica (painting) · Jacqueline (painting) · Le Rêve (painting) · Les Demoiselles d'Avignon · Les Noces de Pierrette · Maya with Doll · Nude on a black armchair · The Old Guitarist · Reading the Letter (Picasso) · Seated circus performer and boy · Sylvette · The Three Dancers · Three Musicians · The Weeping Woman · Woman in Hat and Fur Collar · Portrait of Suzanne Bloch
Partners	Françoise Gilot · Olga Khokhlova · Geneviève Laporte · Dora Maar · Fernande Olivier · Marie-Thérèse Walter · Jacqueline Roque
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See also	Surviving Picasso
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