Guernica is a large 1937 oil painting and one of Picasso's best-known works painted during the Spanish Civil War. It is regarded by many art critics as the most moving and powerful anti-war painting in history.
It resulted after the 26 April 1937 aerial bombardment of Guernica. The attack by warplanes of the Nazi Germany Condor Legion, commanded by Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen, bombed Guernica for about two hours. In his 30 April 1937 journal entry von Richthofen noted that when the squadron arrived "there was smoke everywhere" from the attack by three aircraft, and since nobody could see the roads, bridges, and suburbs "they just dropped everything right into the center. The 250s toppled a number of houses and destroyed the water mains. The incendiaries now could spread and become effective. The materials of the houses: tile roofs, wooden porches, and half-timbering resulted in complete annihilation."
Most of Guernica's men were away fighting on behalf of the Republicans, and at the time of the bombing the town was populated mostly by women and children as reflected in Picasso's painting. Women and children make Guernica the image of innocent, defenseless humanity victimised.
During the 1970s, Guernica was a symbol for Spaniards of both the end of the Francisco Franco regime following Franco's death and of Basque nationalism. The Basque left repeatedly used imagery from the picture. Guernica has since become a universal and powerful symbol warning humanity against the suffering and devastation of war. There are no obvious references to the specific attack, making its message universal and timeless.
No comments:
Post a Comment