Ensayo Sobre El Guernika

Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso, in response to the bombing of

Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of

the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil

War. The Spanish Republican government commissioned Pablo Picasso to

create a large mural for the Spanish display at the Exposition Internationale

des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937) Paris International

Exposition in the 1937 World's Fair in Paris.

Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon

individuals, particularly innocent civilians. This work has gained a

monumental status, becoming a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war, an

anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace. On completion Guernica was

displayed around the world in a brief tour, becoming famous and widely

acclaimed. This tour helped bring the Spanish Civil War to the world's

attention.

The painting

Guernica is gray, black and white, 3.5 metre (11 ft) tall and 7.8 metre (25.6 ft)

wide, a mural-size canvas painted in oil. This painting can be seen in the

Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid. Picasso's purpose in painting it was to bring the

world's attention to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by German

bombers, who were supporting the Nationalist forces of General Franco

during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso completed the painting by mid-June

1937.[1] Picasso exhibited his mural-size painting at the Spanish display at the

Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937)

(Paris International Exposition) in the 1937 World's Fair in Paris and then at

other venues around the world. The San Francisco Museum of Art (later

SFMOMA) gave the work its first public, free appearance in the United States

from 27 August - 19 September. The Museum of Modern Art in New York

City then mounted an important Picasso exhibition on 15 November 1939 that

remained on view until 7 January 1940, entitled: Picasso: 40 Years of His Art,

that was organized by Alfred H. Barr (1902–1981), in collaboration with the

Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition contained 344 works, including

Guernica and its studies.[2]

Guernica shows 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. It is important to note that

the large gaping wound in the horse's side is a major focus of the

painting.

• Two "hidden" images formed by the horse appear in Guernica:

o A human skull overlays the horse's body.

o 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.

• The bull's tail forms the image of a flame with smoke rising from

it, seemingly appearing in a window created by the lighter shade of

gray surrounding it.

• 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.

• On the open palm of the dead soldier is a stigma, a symbol of

martyrdom derived from the stigmata of Christ.

• A light bulb blazes in the shape of an evil eye over the suffering

horse's head (the bare bulb of the torturer's cell.) Picasso's intended

symbolism in regards to this object is related to the Spanish word

for lightbulb; "bombilla", which makes an allusion to "bomb" and

therefore signifies the destructive effect which technology can

have on society.

• 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. The lamp is positioned very close to the

bulb, and is a symbol of hope, clashing with the lightbulb.

• 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 and interpretations

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.[3]

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 which relate directly to the

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