Analysis Of Pablo Picasso's Guernica
In this essay I will be looking at the artwork Guernica by Pablo Picasso and make a visual analysis, using the effects and their emotional impact on me, the techniques used and the historical context of the painting as evidence for support and decide whether or not I consider it to be a form of protest, and if it is still fulfilling that purpose today.
The first impression that Guernica had on me, looking at the fear on the depicted figures faces that appear to be crowded in a small dark room, was a strong sense of sadness, gloominess, panic and claustrophobia. Even though the painting makes me feel this way I do like it, but I do not think that the effects that Guernica has on me alone, without knowing anything of the techniques or the context, …show more content…
Picasso painted Guernica by request of one of two Spanish governments, the Republicans who wanted a democracy in Spain. It was painted in response to a particular horrific event, the bombing of the town Guernica in the Basque country in 1937 and refers to the Spanish Civil War but it is not related to the second world war. (The Open University, 2014, Block 3, 2.2.5)The town still exists today. Picasso objected against fascism and Francisco Franco's regime. Francisco Franco was the dictator of Spain at the time and he also allowed the town to be bombed. (The Open University, 2014, Block 3, 2.2.6) Picasso used Guernica to draw international attention to the bombing and keep its memory alive. As he was a high profile artist, it ensured that people would know where Guernica was kept and why: it was Picasso's will to lend it to the Museum of Modern Art until Spain became a democracy again and its link to Franco's dictatorship over Spain would remain in peoples minds. (The Open University, 2014, Block 3, 2.2.5)
I think that knowing the historical context of Picasso's Guernica, combined with the techniques used to the effects it had on me, helps to answer the question in what ways can Picasso's Guernica be seen as form of protest? I've come to the conclusion that it is in fact a form of protest, but is it still continuing to fulfil this purpose
The first impression that Guernica had on me, looking at the fear on the depicted figures faces that appear to be crowded in a small dark room, was a strong sense of sadness, gloominess, panic and claustrophobia. Even though the painting makes me feel this way I do like it, but I do not think that the effects that Guernica has on me alone, without knowing anything of the techniques or the context, …show more content…
Picasso painted Guernica by request of one of two Spanish governments, the Republicans who wanted a democracy in Spain. It was painted in response to a particular horrific event, the bombing of the town Guernica in the Basque country in 1937 and refers to the Spanish Civil War but it is not related to the second world war. (The Open University, 2014, Block 3, 2.2.5)The town still exists today. Picasso objected against fascism and Francisco Franco's regime. Francisco Franco was the dictator of Spain at the time and he also allowed the town to be bombed. (The Open University, 2014, Block 3, 2.2.6) Picasso used Guernica to draw international attention to the bombing and keep its memory alive. As he was a high profile artist, it ensured that people would know where Guernica was kept and why: it was Picasso's will to lend it to the Museum of Modern Art until Spain became a democracy again and its link to Franco's dictatorship over Spain would remain in peoples minds. (The Open University, 2014, Block 3, 2.2.5)
I think that knowing the historical context of Picasso's Guernica, combined with the techniques used to the effects it had on me, helps to answer the question in what ways can Picasso's Guernica be seen as form of protest? I've come to the conclusion that it is in fact a form of protest, but is it still continuing to fulfil this purpose