Picasso and The Spanish Civil War

On April 26, 1937 the Spanish Civil War changed dramatically the lives of many people when the town of Guernica was bombed. After the bombing 70 percent of the town layed in ruins. Pablo Picasso was one of the first of many to feel the emotional pain due to this massacre. Guernica was made in order to provoke an impact on people and show the tragedies Francisco Franco had created as it was said that the entire war was a propagandist war above anything else. Guernica's structure, format, style, and brush strokes were so dramatic they could create an entire novel. The most notable part of this painting was perhaphs the imense size of the painting. This creates the impression that one is part of the image itself. This clearly made it more emotional for the viewer as they related to the painting. Throughout the painting, open mouths shriek in terror and pain. There is a lot of chaos in this image as we see many dead bodies scattered all over the place. The painting is done in shades of black, white and gray which help accentuate the painting. This helps draw attention to the figures in the painting rather than the colors of it. The sentiment is depicted through the ceiling light. The light is shaped like an eye as if it were sonstantly watching over the events of the war. Light represents good, ans since Picasso was a republican the light perhaphs represented the Republicans--meaning the republicans were going to win the war. http://personal.centenary.edu/~eholland/Guernica.html