The Masterpiece of the 20th Century
I discovered the story of Guernica by reading Picasso's
War, Russell Martin's brilliant
examination of the history of the painting. The book examines the Spanish
Civil War and its part as a precursor to World War II while simultaneously
following Picasso's life.
The Spanish Civil War:
A fledgling Spanish democracy had finally
been born out of the old monarchy, but it was only able to exist
for a few years before Franco and his fascists started to wrest control
of Spain from the socialist government. Picasso supported the embattled
Republic and sent much of his fortune to Spain, but to little use.
Franco had the clandestine support of the Italian army as well as
Hitler's troops. Hitler was slowly taking over Western Europe while Britain
and France hid in denial.
The
fascists decided to attack a city in Spain and kill two birds with one
stone - test out the Nazis' horrible new warfare techniques and send
a symbolic message to the Republic to crush their spirits. Guernica
was a small city in the heart of Spain's Basque region. The Basques were
a minority group and just beginning to enjoy full rights in the
Republic. They expected renewed persecution if Franco came to power,
and were fighting fiercely.
Under cover of darkness, on April 26, 1937,
Nazi planes decimated the city. It was the first time that devestation on that scale had been wrought
from the air, and that new development allowed the pilots complete disconnection
from their victims. This encouraged the planes not just to bomb military
targets but every building in the city, and to circle back again and
again to gun down every person they could find.
Picasso's Reaction:
The
world was outraged at the devastation and Franco was forced to spread
lies that the Communists, a group that supported the Republic, had torched
the city to prevent the fascists from capturing it. But much of the world
press saw through this rumor. Picasso and other Spanish exiles in France
decided to express their anger
through their art, both
as a way of fighting Franco's lies and to drum up more support for the
Republic.
Spanish by birth, Picasso spent most of his life in Paris, the center
of the art world. He had been commissioned to create a giant mural for
the Spanish exhibition at the 1937 World's Fair. He was working on ideas
that included much of his recurring imagery - such as a Bull
that often represented himself, or Spain - but then heard of the
attack on Guernica. Though he disdained overt political art, Picasso couldn't
resist making a bold statement against Franco, whom he despised.
For three months - lightspeed for such a huge canvas - Picasso created
what was to become his masterpiece. But the Spanish Pavilion at the World's
Fair, meager due to little funding from the dying Republic, was overshadowed
by Albert Speer's Nazi monolith. Those that did see Guernica, especially
the press reviews, were overwhelmingly critical.
Guernica's History:
But soon after, the painting began to tour Europe and then America to
raise awareness of the horrors of Fascism. Its fame grew, and the painting
was displayed at MoMA in New York for safety. It stayed there as the
centerpiece of MoMA's collection for almost forty years.
Franco's regime outlasted Picasso by only a few years. Before he died,
Franco restored the prince from the old monarchy to the throne to succeed
him. It had always been Franco's dream to hand over Spain to the harsh
tradition of the monarchy he remembered. But he miscalculated drastically,
because the new king decided to hand over power peacefully to a new democratic
Republic. Picasso had vowed that the painting belonged to a democratic
Spain and would only be taken there when the Republic again existed. In
the 1980s, Guernica was eventually brought to its homeland ... for the
first time.
Picasso's War:
Highly recommended!
"A painting is not thought out and settled in advance," said Picasso. "While it is being done, it changes as one's thoughts change. And when it's finished, it goes on changing, according to the state of mind of whoever is looking at it."
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