What is the Guernica?

The painting depicts the immediate aftermath of the 1937 bombing of Guernica, a small but historically important town in the heart of the Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of Spain’s Franco-led Nationalist forces. The bombing, which lasted for over three hours, resulted in hundreds of dead and wounded civilians and the utter devastation of the town. Displayed near the entrance of the Republican’s pavilion, Guernica was the first thing many visitors saw. The complex composition, with Picasso’s characteristic Cubist figures and disquieting representation of space, was not easy to read. A braying horse occupies the painting’s center, stumbling over its fallen rider sprawled below and lit by the spiked rays of a lightbulb above. A bellowing bull on the left seems to encompass a wailing mother with her child laying slack in her arms. A ghostly figure emerges from an opening to the right, holding a gaslight, while a woman closer to the foreground hangs her arms in despair. When the world’s fair ended, the Spanish Republic toured Guernica throughout Scandinavia and England to raise awareness and funds for their cause.

The post What is the Guernica? appeared first on interaksyonph.