Apollo Collection: Guernica By Pablo Picasso

Introduction

The second piece of artwork I am proposing for the Apollo Collection is Guernica, by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso. Guernica was created with oil paints on canvas, it is mural-size painting measuring 25.6 feet wide by 11 feet tall. This is currently located in Madrid at the Reina Sofia Museum.

Subject Matter and Interpretation

Guernica was painted by Picasso as a response to the horrific bombing by Nazi’s on a small village in Northern Spain of the same name. This painting shows the darkness, brutality, and suffering that war causes on a community. Every man, woman, child, and animal has been affected by the bombing. There is a mother holding her child, who most likely died as a result of the bombing, crying out in pain and anguish,

with a bull standing over her in shocked at the devastation in the small village. In the middle of the painting the solider and horse look to both be badly injured, leaving no one to protect the rest of the innocents in the Guernica. The painting seems to travel to the left, as if the subjects are running away from the bombs to safety.

Media
The media for this painting is oil on canvas.

The technique of oil painting originated in the 7th century AD, it is a slow drying paint created by the suspension of color pigments in linseed oil or other carrier oil. Oil paints dry by oxidation, meaning it reacts with oxygen and gradually changes from a liquid to a gel and eventually becomes solid. Guernica is a monochrome painting due to the face that Picasso only used shades of black, grey, and white to depict the horrors of the bombing. Because white typically symbolizes innocence and purity, Pablo Picasso chose to paint the innocents (i.e. the woman holding the child, soldier, woman running, etc.) white. The black and grey background, or negative space in the painting, symbolizes the death, evil, and destruction the bombs caused. It could also be said that the white space behind the woman holding the candle with an outstretched arm could be a doorway. She could be trying to call the subjects of the painting to safety. Oil paint is the most appropriate media for this work because it enhances the drama Picasso was trying to portray, if painted in color I believe a viewer would be distracted from the horror and tragedy of the attack on

Guernica.

Visual Analysis
The value of this painting is highly emphasized, Picasso created a high contrast painting that remained balanced, it is not too light or too dark on one side versus the other.

The lines in this work of art are expressive, creating the illusion of movement and outlining each of the subjects creates the illusion of space and depth in this painting. Picassco’s use of geometric shapes, lines, and value create a unified work of art. While the painting might give the illusion of moving to the left when you look at it as a whole, the Fibonacci Sequence is demonstrated when first looking at the painting. Picasso distorted the subjects in Guernica so your eye follows a path to the center of the painting, the horse. Demonstrating the Fibonacci Sequence. The path starts at the injured solider on the ground, then travels to the injured woman desperately running from the bombing, which brings your eyes to the woman being engulfed followed by the woman with outstretched arm observing the horror from a window. Your eyes continue to the depiction of the bull watching the chaos around him in horror, then on to the women crying out in anguish over her dead child, and finally landing on the frantic and injured

horse.

Conclusions
This is a powerful anti-war symbol that should be included in the Apollo Collection because of the anti-war symbolism it represents. Guernica reminds us to remember the impact on war at a smaller scale. This was created during a time of political disturbance world-wide, World War II followed just two years later. It would send a great message that we should not repeat the mistakes of the past and hope for a brighter, more peaceful future.