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Writer's pictureDoaa Mohamed

Guernica By Pablo Picasso "Not Just A Painting"

Updated: Jul 27, 2023

"Art shapes our personality and traits, Art chronicles historical events."


There is a misconception that art is designed only to decorate houses esthetically.

Regardless of the purpose, Paintings always convey special meanings and elicit emotions that let you think differently.



Why Picasso Painted Guernica?


When you consciously think about Art evoking emotions, you consider joyful and loving feelings because you are always bound to the aesthetic essence of art. However, some paintings are created to raise empathy, record pain, and disaster, and even push the viewer to take a stand upon the artwork's message. That is simply why Pablo Picasso painted Guernica.


Guernica Pablo Picasso 1937
Guernica Pablo Picasso 1937

How Did Pablo Picasso Impact The World?

"Picasso's work continues to inspire and influence artists around the world."


Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and one of the greatest painters of all time.


Picasso is best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles that he developed and explored.


Picasso's artistic legacy continues to have a major impact on the art world. Picasso's style evolved greatly throughout his long career, from his early Blue and Rose periods to his African-influenced works, to his later Surrealist period. He worked in a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics.


Picasso produced over 50,000 works of art in his lifetime. Picasso's impact on art cannot be overstated, and his works continue to inspire artists and attract audiences today. Moreover, his works are among the most expensive paintings ever sold.


"Guernica," "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," and "The Old Guitarist." Picasso's work continues to inspire and influence artists around the world, and his legacy stays as one of the greatest artists of all time and continues to shape our understanding of modern art.


What Is The Meaning Of Guernica?

"The artwork depicts the bombing of Guernica in Spain"


Guernica is considered one of the most famous paintings of the 20th century. It was created in 1937. It depicts the bombing of Guernica in Spain by Germany and Italy air forces during the Spanish civil war.


Guernica painting has become an iconic symbol of the horrors of war and is displayed around the world in a brief tour which helped bring the Spanish civil war to the world's attention.


Despite being in Paris and away from his birthplace Spain, the Sense of justice that Picasso had inspired him to paint Guernica, he read newspapers and collected all images of Guernica's war and he used to look at them daily.


On 1 May 1937, he started to express all his pain, sorrow, and anger to convey a deeper meaning about both himself and the Spanish people through painting which is the reason for making Guernica's image Picasso was bombed.


In Guernica, you will find how people suffer because of war. Picasso used white, black, and grey colors with a matte finish to acknowledge the suffering created through the chaos and express the sharpness of the violence.


What do you feel through these dark shades?!

Of course, you feel sorrowful for the innocent civilians and refuse the fascism of wars as well.


What Are The Art Elements Of Guernica?

"Guernica witnesses the inhumanity, violence, and roughness of war."


Guernica shows a screaming woman holding the lifeless body of her dead child, a mutilated soldier, and flames. A dead man with a visible head and arms and the rest of his body overlapped with other scattered body parts.

How terrible this crisis was?!


On the right, there are more three women. One rushes in and looks up at the light bulb at the top of the location. Another woman leans out of the window of a burning house, with extending arm holding a lamp.

The third woman screamed in horror because this destructive attack mainly killed women and children.


If you gaze at the details of Guernica you will figure out that all their faces were misshaped with misery. Besides some terrible body expressions like dislocated eyes, opened mouths, and tongues are replaced by daggers.



Take a deep look at Guernica!


You will see a torn newsprint because Picasso knew about that attack through the newspaper. He was very shocked and angry. Picasso wanted to influence the world, and for that, Picasso transferred all his feeling through his painting to protest against the war.



Besides, you will find a stabbed horse with opened mouth, screaming in pain which represents the innocent civilians who suffered during the bombing. On the other hand, the bull is indeed often represented as a symbol of fascism and the destructive violence that it brought to Spain.



Through Guernica, Picasso was keen to depict his anger at the horrors of war and to call for peace and stop the violence. So, Guernica is considered Picasso's reaction to how art can contribute toward self-assertion that gives humans the power to protect themselves against overwhelming forces such as political crime, war, and death.


During world war II, a German officer asked Picasso in Paris about Guernica's painting

"Did you do that?"

Picasso responds "No, you did"


Do you notice how confident and pointed Picasso was? He had an objection and wanted to deliver it through painting and influence the world to stop the war.

And that is why Picasso is considered one of the most influential artists in history.

Guernica of Pablo Picasso stands as a concept to say enough to all destructive outcomes of wars.

What Is The Message Of Guernica?

"Through Guernica, Picasso was keen to depict his anger at the horrors of war and to call for peace and stop the violence."


"Can you feel the pain they felt?!"


"Do you imagine how much screaming and suffering they lived?!"


Pablo Picasso represented the horror that stood out in every part of Guernica to paint it as a scary picture screaming for help.


Nowadays, I guess that every one of us when he dives much deeper looking through Guernica's painting will live through the same pain. that's why Picasso designed it to document the Spanish war and make us more empathetic with Spanish people. moreover, you will feel mixed emotions between, fear, sorrow, misery, and pride.


The amazing artist Picasso created this art piece through pain, love, and power with confidence.


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