Guernica is not only a masterpiece of Pablo Picasso’s cubism, but it is also an important political statement, perhaps the most iconic anti-war image of the twentieth century. After he was commissioned to paint a mural for the Paris World Fair, Picasso eschewed the prompt of ‘technology’ and instead chose to shine a spotlight on the aftermath of the Guernica bombings. Singulart examines the historical context behind the artwork, as well as the symbolism and interpretations of Guernica.
Historical context of Guernica
In 1936, a civil war broke out in Spain. Fascist forces, led by General Francisco Franco, were rising up against the democratic Republican government. Although the Republican party was made up of many differing parties, each with contrasting ideologies, they were united in their efforts to block the influence of the Nationalists, who were attempting to return to the traditional Catholic values of pre-Republican Spain.
Guernica, located in Basque country, was a place of particular importance to the Republicans. Although the city had no military significance, it was symbolic of the Basque culture. On April 26, 1937, Hitler’s German Condor Legion bombed the city for three hours, acting in support of General Franco. Twenty five bomber planes bombed the town with 100,000 pounds of explosives, and twenty more planes hunted down citizens trying to flee the scene. It is thought that the majority of citizens were trapped in the center of the town, as it was market day, and they were unable to escape as the roads and bridges surrounding them had been destroyed. The majority of men were at war, so most of the 1,600 townspeople injured or killed were women and children.
News of the attack reached Paris on May 1, 1937. As a supporter of the Republicans, Picasso was horrified by the news and began work on the preliminary sketches that would become the Guernica mural. In the 1940s, a German officer would see a photograph of Guernica in Picasso’s apartment and ask, “Did you do that?”, to which Picasso replied, “No. You did.”
Guernica – composition and creation
In Guernica, we can see six human figures – four women, a man, and a child – as well as a horse and a bull. The scene is frenzied, lit only by a lamp bulb bursting with light over all of the chaos.
To the left of the painting, a bull whose side has been pierced by a dagger looms over a devastated mother, wailing as she holds her dead child in her arms. A horse brays as it tramples a fallen man, whose right arm has been severed from his body. In his dismembered hand he holds a shattered sword, and we can see a flower blooming from his clenched fist. Two ghostly figures float eerily towards the center of the piece, one holding a gas lamp to examine the turmoil in front of her. At the right of the painting we can see a figure screaming, engulfed in flames.
Guernica is painted in a monochromatic palette, using a technique known as grisaille. Picasso had a paint specially created for Guernica in order to use the least amount of gloss possible, and emulate the immediacy of wartime photography. Despite the immense size of Guernica, it only took Picasso a month and a half to complete, ready to be exhibited in the Spanish Pavilion of the Paris World Fair.
Speaking about Guernica, Picasso stated:
“My whole life as an artist has been nothing more than a continuous struggle against reaction and the death of art. In the picture I am painting, which I shall call Guernica, I am expressing my horror of the military caste which is now plundering Spain into an ocean of misery and death.”
Symbolism of Guernica
Picasso never publicly confirmed any of the interpretations of Guernica, and its meaning has been hotly debated ever since its creation. Here, Singulart breaks down the elements of the piece along with their possible symbolism.
It is believed that the bull, with its dispassionate, expressionless face, could symbolize Franco. However, as a bull is a symbol for virility, the stab wounds of the bull could symbolize that man is fractured, that humanity in general is in trouble. It has also been theorized that the bull could be an emblem of Spanish culture, as Picasso had referenced bullfighting in previous paintings (this would also account for the stab wounds on the bull).
The mother and child at the left of the painting could be a reference to Madonna and child, or more specifically a symbol of pieta. Pieta, or pity, is a trope that has been seen in countless artworks, referencing Mary carrying Jesus’s dead body in her arms after he was taken down from the cross.
The horse is the center of the painting; our eye is immediately drawn to its panicked, hysterical expression. It is generally believed that the horse symbolizes the Guernican people, with the arrow piercing the horse’s side adding to this conclusion. It is interesting to note that early sketches of the horse, hidden on this canvas by layers of paint and revisions, portrayed it with a downward expression, as if admitting defeat. Here, in the final version, the horse has been struck and in pain but remains defiant until its last moments.
The only male figure in this painting can be seen under the horse, screaming in pain as the horse tramples his dismembered body. Only the upper half of his body is visible, with the rest lost in the swirling chaos surrounding him. While one of his hands shows signs of the stigmata, another Biblical reference, a white flower grows out of the broken sword in the other hand, which could symbolize hope after destruction.
The lamp that hangs overhead, illuminating the scene, could be interpreted as a bomb dropping. However, some critics have argued that it represents the eye of God. It has also been suggested that the lamp represents the notion of technology being used to propel evil, shining a spotlight on the dark side of modern technology.
Historians have debated the meaning of the three women on the right side of the painting. It has been suggested that the women represent the three fates, as seen in Greek mythology, or that they could depict the three martyred virgins of early Christianity. They could also be a reflection of Picasso’s personal life, portraying his wife and two lovers.
Picasso was deliberately obtuse about the meaning of Guernica, which is partly why it has been so thoroughly discussed and debated since its creation. He stated, “It isn’t up to the painter to define the symbols… The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them.”
