Friday/ Monday May31/ June 3 Guernica

Coming up: on Tuesday we are beginning a new unit. If you are absent, make sure to check the blog.

In class: today and tomorrow we are exploring the symbolism, imagery and metaphors through Pablo Picasso's paining Guernica.
1) background information
2) TED TALK FILM (link below, if you are absent)
3) transcript of film below
4) accompanying analysis and response sheet (class handout / copy below)

Probably Picasso's most famous work, Guernica is certainly the his most powerful political statement, painted as an immediate reaction to the Nazi's devastating casual bombing practice on the Basque town of Guernica during Spanish Civil War.
Dates: Jul 17, 1936 – Apr 1, 1939

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.

This work is seen as an amalgmation of pastoral and epic styles. The discarding of color intensifis the drama, producing a reportage quality as in a photographic record. Guernica is blue, 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 Sofia in Madrid.

Historical Context of the Masterpiece

Guernica is a town in the province of Biscay in Basque Country. During the Spanish Civil War, it was regarded as the northern bastion of the Republican resistance movement and the epicenter of Basque culture, adding to its significance as a target.

The Republican forces were made up of assorted factions (Communists, Socialists, Anarchists, to name a few) with wildly differing approaches to government and eventual aims, but a common opposition to the Nationalists. The Nationalists, led by General Francisco Franco, were also factionalized but to a lesser extent. They sought a return to the golden days of Spain, based on law, order, and traditional Catholic family values.

At about 16:30 on Monday, 26 April 1937, warplanes of the German Condor Legion, commanded by Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen, bombed Guernica for about two hours. Germany, at this time led by Hitler, had lent material support to the Nationalists and were using the war as an opportunity to test out new weapons and tactics. Later, intense aerial bombardment became a crucial preliminary step in the Blitzkrieg tactic.

After the bombing, Picasso was made aware of what had gone on in his country of origin. At the time, he was working on a mural for the Paris Exhibition to be held in the summer of 1937, commissioned by the Spanish Republican government. He deserted his original idea and on 1 May 1937, began on Guernica. This captivated his imagination unlike his previous idea, on which he had been working somewhat dispassionately, for a couple of months. It is interesting to note, however, that at its unveiling at the Paris Exhibition that summer, it garnered little attention. It would later attain its power as such a potent symbol of the destruction of war on innocent lives.

Guernica, Picasso's most important political painting, has remained relevant as a work of art and as a symbol of protest, and it kept the memory of the Basque town's nightmare alive. While Picasso was living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II, one German officer allegedly asked him, upon seeing a photo of Guernica in his apartment, "Did you do that?" Picasso responded, "No, you did."

“Guernica, 1937 by Pablo Picasso.” Henri Matisse, www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp.

Guernica

Transcript

On April 26th, 1937, Fascist forces bombed the Basque village of Guernica in Northern Spain. It was one of the worst civilian casualties of the Spanish Civil War, waged between the democratic republic and General Franco’s fascist contingent. 

For Pablo Picasso, the tragedy sparked a frenzied period of work in which he produced a massive anti-war mural, aptly titled "Guernica." The painting is a powerful work of historical documentation and political protest. But while Picasso’s artistic motivations are clear, the symbolism of the painting can be as confusing and chaotic as war itself. How can we make sense of this overwhelming image, and what exactly makes it a masterpiece of anti-war art? 

The painting’s monumental canvas is disorienting from the start, rendered in the abstracted Cubist style Picasso pioneered. Cubism deliberately emphasized the two-dimensionality of the canvas by flattening the objects being painted. This afforded viewers multiple and often impossible perspectives on the same object; a technique considered shocking even in Picasso’s domestic scenes. 

But in this context, the style offers a profoundly overwhelming view of violence, destruction, and casualties. Multiple perspectives only compound the horror on display– sending the eyes hurtling around the frame in a futile hunt for peace. 

On the far left, a woman holding her dead child releases a scream; her eyes sliding down her face in the shape of tears and her head bending back unnaturally to echo her baby’s. There is the statue of a soldier present below, but he is unable to defend the woman and child. Instead his broken body lies in pieces, his arm clutching a splintered sword in a signal of utmost defeat. 

The tip of his sword meets a woman’s foot as she attempts to flee the devastation. But her other leg appears rooted to the spot, locked in the corner of the canvas even as she stretches to move it. Another victim appears behind this slouching figure. Falling helplessly as flames lick around her, she too is caught in her own hopeless scene. 

Each of these figures bordering the painting are horribly trapped, giving the work an acute sense of claustrophobia. And where you might expect the canvas’ massive size to counteract this feeling, its scale only highlights the nearly life-sized atrocities on display. 

Some possible relief comes from a lamp held tightly by a ghostly woman reaching out her window. But is her lantern’s hopeful glow truly lighting the scene? Or is it the jagged lightbulb– thought to represent the technologies of modern warfare– which illuminates her view of the chaos below? 

From the coffin-like confines of her window, her arm guides the viewer back into the fray, to perhaps the most controversial symbols of all– two ghostly animals caught in the destruction. Does the screaming horse embody the threat of Franco’s military nationalism; or does the spike running through its body convey its victimhood? Does the white bull represent Spain, the country of matadors and a common theme in Picasso’s work– or does it stand for the brutality of war? 

In this scene of strife, these animals raise more questions than answers. And additional elements hidden throughout the frame offer even more secrets for close observers. At the top of the canvas flashes a bird desperate to escape the carnage. And the abundance of animals on display may hint at the bombing’s date– a market day which flooded the streets with villagers, animals, and other potential causalities. 

Like the bombing of Guernica itself, Picasso’s painting is dense with destruction. But hidden beneath this supposed chaos, are carefully crafted scenes and symbols, carrying out the painting’s multifaceted attack on fascism. Decades after its creation, "Guernica" retains its power to shock viewers and ignite debate, and is often referenced at anti-war gatherings around the world. Hundred of viewers have grappled with its harsh imagery, shattering symbolism and complex political messaging. But even without a close understanding of it’s complicated subtext, Picasso’s work remains a searing reminder of the true casualties of violence. 

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Guernica-  by Pablo Picasso   accompanying work

contingent- a group of people united by a common feature        to grapple-to struggle

 devastation- great destruction                                                           acute-(adjective)- sharp, poignant

 atrocities- wicked, cruel, destructive acts                                       claustrophobia- extreme fear of enclosed spaces                

to illuminate- make visible, to bring clarity

matador- bull fighter

                                   

Name________________________________

  After reading the background material on Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica and watching the short film, please respond to the following questions.

1.       What forces bombed the northern Spanish city of Guernica in 1937?  __________________________

2.       Who were the two groups fighting during the Spanish Civil War?

__________________________________               ____________________________________________

3.       How does the disoriented perspective of the canvas contribute to the anti-war message?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.       List some of the images within the painting and explain their symbolism

a.       ______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

b.       _______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

c.       _______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

d.       ______________________________________________________________________________________

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5.       In your own words, explain the metaphor of the ghostly woman holding the lamp. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6.       What three animals can be found within the mural?     a.                                                     b.       .                                              c .

7.       Select one of the above animals and discuss historically and or culturally what it has come to mean; then looking over the painting carefully how and why you interpret the image within the mural. This must be a minimum of five well-composed, grammatically correct sentences.

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8.       Using details from the painting, explain why the work is a “powerful work of historical documentation and political protest.”  (Minimum 5 sentences.) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________