Guernica Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Period of creation: 1931-1942

The creative work of Pablo Picasso in the context of the Spanish Civil War. Guernica.

The content of Guernica, as Picassos main anti-war work, is revealed in the context of the will that 20th-century artists had achieved: it is not a testimony but an expression of personal horror at what happened, not a historical fact, but a response to it, an echo of inner turmoil.

Cries of children, cries of women, cries of birds, cries of flowers, cries of trees and stones, cries of bricks, furniture, beds, chairs, cats, newspapers, cries that mix with dust, cries of smoke that burns you from behind, cries that boil in a large pot, and the cries of birds that fall like rain into the sea and fill it. These are the words that end Picassos poetic text accompanying his series of etchings The Dream and Lie of Franco (early 1937). This was the artists first response to the war that erupted in his native Spain between Republicans and Fascists. Even here, in verbal images, there is no hint of a narrative. Their evil flow expressed pain and horror, but not as fleeting states, but as the darkness of life. In this context, one can speak of a mythological line in Picassos art, of its tendency towards eternal truths that transcend momentary sensations.

And yet, initially, when Guernica first appeared before viewers in May-June 1937, it was considered precisely as a painting on an актуальная topic. In January, Picasso received an order from the legitimate Republican government of Spain for a monumental canvas for the national pavilion at the World Exhibition, which opened that summer in Paris. Picasso did not like working to commission, but he began work, choosing the usual theme for him The Artist and the Model. However, after learning about the bombing of Guernica, he abandoned his initial idea. To depict an artist creating in the quiet of a studio, under these circumstances, would be tantamount to idle chatter, and in essence – criminal silence on the atrocity.

Having created numerous sketches and studies, Picasso showed his own vision of the event that everyone was talking about at the time. He came to his composition through an analysis of previously produced artistic forms. In Guernica, one can see borrowings from Hans Baldung Griens engraving The Captivating Horseman, from sculptural compositions on the facades of ancient Greek temples, and also from Picassos own works, as evidenced by the figure of the fallen warrior in the lower left. At the same time, the artist remembered the place for which his panel was intended, and depicted a similar tiled floor that was in the Spanish Pavilion.

Guernica entered the public consciousness of the 20th century because Picassos canvas served as a powerful reminder of it. In 1981, Guernica arrived in Spain from New York, where it had been for forty years. The country found its national symbol according to the will of the artist, who stated that his canvas should become state property of Spain as soon as civil rights were restored there. It is now located in Madrid, at the Reina Sofia Art Center, and its preservation is guaranteed by the Bank of Great Britain.

You see, I am not interested in the gloomy side of life at all. These words, which Picasso said to a kind acquaintance while showing portraits of his daughter Maya, revealed his indifference to the theme of suffering. Indeed, The Girl with a Boat, painted in the gloomy year 1938, is entirely an ordinary portrait. The very innocence of childhood appears in this carefree image of a girl with large eyes, kittens, and a boat in her hands. Naive cheerfulness, perhaps bitter and inappropriate under those conditions, also shines through in the style borrowed from childrens drawings. Picasso paid a lot of attention to his family, that is, Marie-Therese and their daughter, and found support in them, accumulating strength for major, significant works that were expected from him by the public.

The August days of 1939 marked the end of a long period of rest for many years – not only for Picasso, but also for all of Europe. In the painting Night Fishing at Antibes, an atmosphere of happy idyll reigns, which Picasso highly appreciated in the paintings of Henri Rousseau. The fishing scene under the moon is filled with harmonious tones of color and light. Moonbeams attract fish, and fishermen strike them with harpoons. The accurately captured motif and its arrangement evoke a return to the old classical guidelines for Picasso, which he had forgotten for some time. But perhaps the first impression is misleading. Dont alien ghosts intrude into this nocturne, reminiscent of dreams, disturbing shadows cast by the strange, unusual color scheme for Picasso? Shades of blue, black, and green coexist with gloomy browns and purples that absorb the silhouette of Antibes, which appears in the upper left of the painting. And on the pale faces of the fishermen, a hint of fear before the misfortune that is approaching can be seen.

Picasso said goodbye to the Mediterranean for six years. In Nazi-occupied Paris, he felt like he was in prison, but continued to work. He often withdrew from the outside world, and perhaps it was this very circumstance that explains his high productivity. But now, for several years, the public knew nothing about him. He retreated into internal emigration, and art became a means of survival for him more than ever before. During World War II, many artists found an outlet in seclusion. Thus, Max Beckmann took refuge in Amsterdam, and Otto Dix – on Bodensee, finding cozy corners within the very Third Reich. In April 1942, Picasso painted Still Life with Bulls Skull. The impenetrable darkness outside penetrates into the room, creating a menacing atmosphere and covering the table on which white bones are выделены with dark eye sockets. Perhaps, due to a lack of food, Picasso simply could not paint a traditional still life with a table littered with all sorts of food. But it is more likely that this painting is a testament to hopelessness. It was painted on the day that Picasso learned of the death of his old friend, the sculptor Julio Gonzalez, with whom he had once worked in Boulogne. The artists grief for his deceased friend merged with the despair of the time, giving rise to a gloomy still life that, in its power, is not inferior to the works of the masters of the Christian Middle Ages.

However, the final chord of this symphony of death has not yet sounded. With the liberation of Paris in August 1944, Picasso again appeared before the public, who met him with even greater goodwill than before. For a long time, they revered him as a great artist, and now respect for his moral fortitude during the years of occupation was added to this. He never flattered the Nazi authorities, and in the year of the liberation of Paris, both his own convictions and the influence of politicized friends led him into the ranks of the French Communist Party. From his life experience, he came to the conclusion that the radical individualism he professed did not contradict participation in public life.

The Slaughterhouse of 1945 completes the line begun by Guernica. The kinship of the two paintings is revealed in their dull, almost monochromatic color scheme and in the compositional structure, organized around a central triangle. But now, events of reality have surpassed any nightmares. Now everyone has seen what kind of monsters can be born from the depths of the human mind. Millions of people were herded into these ranks like cattle, and Picasso embodied this linguistic turn in a heap of dead bodies. The destruction of form in these twisted, mutilated figures reached its extreme... It turned out that Guernica, despite all its ruthlessness, was only a pale shadow of the horrors of the real world.

Pablo Picassos most infamous painting, Guernica, was commissioned by the Spanish government to be displayed at the Worlds Fair in Paris. The subject of this work was the bombing of the small Spanish town of Guernica, which occurred in 1937.

The backstory of its creation is as follows: Spain was embroiled in a civil war during that period. On April 26, 1937, a tragic day in Spanish history, a unit of Luftwaffe volunteers known as the Condor Legion received permission to attack the town of Guernica. For several hours, the small town of Guernica was subjected to bombing: the city was practically wiped off the map, and most of the population perished under the rubble. Fires raged through the city for three days after the raid. The world watched in horror at the tragedy of Guernica.

The painting was created by the artist in just about a month. Inspired, he worked for 12 hours a day, creating his incredible masterpiece. However, when he presented the painting at the exhibition in Paris, the artist was disappointed. The work not only failed to impress visitors but also caused a wave of discontent and rejection. Many viewers, even renowned art critics, considered the painting unartistic and, moreover, the worst thing Picasso had ever painted.

So, what does Picassos Guernica represent?

It is a huge black-and-white canvas with a schematic depiction of people, animals, scenes of violence, death, and horror, executed in the style of Cubism. The black-and-white palette gives the image a resemblance to newspaper clippings and also conveys the essence of war. All plot lines in the painting are depicted chaotically, making it difficult to focus on any single scene or figure.

All the images in the painting are very symbolic. The action is contained within a single enclosed space, creating a sense of hopelessness. In the left part, there is a woman who mourns for her child, who died in her arms, and a bulls head looks at her with indifference. Many researchers of the artists work believe that the image of the bull symbolizes the power of Spain, which allowed the bombing of the city. Others believe that the bull represents fascism. The image of the horse, depicted in the center of the composition, is no less interesting. Curses erupting from its mouth are directed at the bull, and the horses nose and teeth are shaped like a human skull.

The image of the soldier dying under the figure of the horse is also very interesting. His hand, severed in battle, holds a sword from which a flower grows. On his hands, attentive viewers can see stigmata, as a reference to a Christian symbol of suffering. Although the artist himself was far from a religious person, to enhance the emotional impact on the viewer, he refers to symbols that are well-known to everyone.

You can also see several other interesting details in the painting. For example, human tongues are depicted as daggers, a bulls tail turns into flames, and a light bulb strongly resembles one of the gypsy curses known as the Evil Eye.

Недаром эта картина находится под пуленепробиваемом стеклом. Это стекло во первых несколько задерживает негативную энергетику идущую от полотна, во-вторых защищает от покушения. Мои утверждения небезосновательны. Одна женщина (известная в городе художница), рассказывала как побывав на оригинальной выставке П. Пикассо, она выходила оттуда явно подавленная с подкошенными ногами. Хотя я думаю, надеялась увидеть нечто большее