Similarities Between Picasso And Tim Hawkinson

A majority of artists use the physical world and personal experiences as a canvas to create artworks that have impacted the way we look at the world. In this essay I have focussed on classical renaissance artists Pablo Picasso and Frida Kahlo together with postmodern artist Tim Hawkinson. Here is an analysis of an artwork by each artist with examples of those who draw inspiration from their environment, whether it came from history, personal background and experiences or simply physical features of the world around them.

Pablo Picasso was born on October 25th, 1881, and grew up to be one of the most influential 20th century artists in symbolism, surrealism and Cubism. He was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and

The paintings’ historical connection to Picasso is shown in its title that is named after a small country town in north Spain that was the target of a bombing exercise by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War. Guernica is principally a war painting, presenting a visual account of the devastating and chaotic effect of war on both men and women. Picasso focused specifically on the impact of war in communities and civilian life. The painting shows several victims of the bombing, some still living, some already dead. In the foreground, a figure sprawled in a prostrate position appears to be a corpse, framed on either side by living victims with their heads thrown back, moaning in agony. On the left hand side there is a mother holding a baby who appears to have been killed during the bombing. Normally, Picasso did not like to talk about the meaning of his art, yet it is hard to deny the patriotic symbolism in Guernica. As the unofficial national symbol of Picasso's homeland and the most resilient figure in the painting, the bull most likely is a symbol of Spain itself, the country still "standing" even after a brutal attack. While the bull is triumphant in the painting, the overall meaning of Guernica is less optimistic, with complete disorder and confusion, brutally reigning over civilization, much as it did during the real life Guernica bombing attack (Legomenon.com, 2013). His portrayal of how he saw

Kahlo was born July 6th, 1907 in Mexico City. Kahlo is known for her grotesque paintings that are influenced by the traumatic physical and psychological events from childhood to early adulthood, including a crippling accident and the infidelity of her husband (my.meural.com, 2018). Her artwork has also shown her questioning of her mixed identity, Mexican and German, that provided a rich source of ideas. In later life, she was forced to rely on painkillers that affected the quality of her output. She has now become a cultural icon and is especially revered in her home country for her focus on her Mexican identity. Using her personal tragedies, both physical and psychological, combined with a realistic painting style, Kahlo produced images that were emotionally raw and visually disturbing. Her art was dominated by self-portraits that often showed her suffering. Many of Kahlo's works also dealt with issues of national