Guernica, 1937 by Pablo Picasso

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Guernica, 1937 by Pablo Picasso
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Pablo Picasso

• Born in Spain
• Known as the most famous artist of the 20th
  century
• Lived from 1881-1973
• Pablo Picasso is considered a Modernist in terms
  of art history

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Guernica
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Historical Context of Guernica, 1937

• Commissioned by the Spanish Republican Government
  to create a mural
• The Spanish Civil War broke out July 18, 1937
• The massacre of the village Guernica became the
  image for the mural

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Biographical Context Why the Spanish Civil War
Affected Picasso?

• Picasso was a Spaniard with strong populist
  beliefs
• He was moved by the tragedy of the war

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Aesthetic Analysis of Guernica

• Elements
• Line
• Shape / Form
• Space
• Texture
• Value
• Color
• Arrangement of the elements

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Lines

• Thin lines
• Mechanical Lines
• Organic lines
• Fine point instrument
• Asymmetrical
• Not drawn to scale
• Horizontal, vertical, and curved lines

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Shape and Form

• Triangles
• Ovals
• Rectangles
• Square
• Circles

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Space

• Two-dimensional perspective

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Texture

• Combination
• Some objects appear smooth, no brush strokes or
  scratch marks
• Some objects appear rough

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Value

• There is high contrast between light and dark in
  this work
• There is no evidence of a light source because
  there are no shadows

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Color

• Somber tones of gray
• Charcoal
• Black
• White

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• Pain and despair
• Abandonment of hope
• Cubist in origin

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Critical Interpretation by Scholars

• There is no hope depicted in the colors, figures,
  and complex symbolism
• Bull is brutality and darkness
• Horse represents the innocence of the civilian
  victims
• The weeping woman is Picassos mistress, Dora