The Spanish Civil War
In the 1930’s the world faced a world
wide great depression…
There was poverty and
unrest. Many felt that a
communist government
might hold answers to
relieve the misery…
Others turn to fascist dictators.
In Spain, the
government
would face a test
when force on
the “right” who
were anticommunist,
would face those
on the “left.”
The side on the
right were called
NATIONALISTS
and the side on
the left were
called
REPUBLICANS
This clash became a civil war, which
cost Spain billions of dollars and
hundreds of thousands of lives.
Hitler and Mussolini supported the
right, and Stalin supported the left.
The Spanish
Civil War
served as an
opportunity to
“test” their
weapons,
including tanks
and planes,
Those who were on the left
were also against the
power of the Catholic
church. As a result,
thousands of nuns and
priests were slaughtered.
Hitler sent his famous “Condor Legion.” This was
a group of skilled pilots with new planes that were
skilled at dive bombing..
Their most
infamous
attack was
the bombing
of the city of
Guernica
The Tragedy of Guernica
Town Destroyed In Air Attack
“A group of women and children.
They were lifted high into the air,
maybe 20 feet or so, and they
started to break up. Legs, arms,
heads, and bits and pieces flying
everywhere.”
Full newspaper account of the
event: http://www.spanishfiestas.com/art/picassoguernica.htm
Pablo
Picasso, a
Spanish
painter, chose
to use this
bombing of
the town as
the theme for
a very large
painting.
“Guernica” Painting
“Guernica” was meant to be an anti-war symbol used to show the
death, violence, brutality, suffering, and helplessness that war brings.
It is presented in black and white to represent the lifelessness of
newspaper photographs that are so frequently seen in times of
conflict.
The painting is almost the size of one
wall of your classroom. It is done in
black, grey, and white.
The images are startling. Picasso tried to
be secretive about the painting’s
meaning…but we have clues about why he
included certain drawings.
He had made drawings earlier where
he did explain their meanings…
The Bull in the painting is a symbol
of Spain. The bull “observes” the
destruction in front of him.
The fallen warrior is from the legend of Parsifal—
whose sword breaks in half at the crucial moment
of battle.
The fallen warrior is also laid out in
a crucifix position…
The slashes on the horse are representative of
newsprint—the newspaper that lists those who
have died.
The light in the middle of the painting
may mean violence…
There are terrible
images—a woman
holding a dead
child.
A person burning in a fire…
Some say that Picasso painting an
open door so that he could
“escape” from the violence.
Guernica has come to be one of the
most famous paintings of our modern
age--
Images of Guernica
•
Guernica shows disturbing images meant to draw the onlooker’s attention to
the many aspects of what goes on during war. These include:
– A mother grieving over her lifeless child, clasped in her arms
– A mangled soldier strewn about under his wounded horse
– Daggers from the tongues of the woman, bull, and horse
– A figure trapped, in the right hand corner, by the surrounding flames.
– A human skull forms the shape of the horse’s nose and mouth.
– An unsettling light, in the shape of an eyeball, oversees the scene.
– A frightened woman watches the scene taking place before her, unable
to comprehend the horrific sight.
At the end of the war, Franco
emerged as the leader of Spain,
Picasso had sent the painting to New York and
said it should only return to Spain when Franco
died..
In 1981, Guernica was finally sent back to
Spain. There it can be seen today…a
masterpiece of modern painting.
The image is still used today to protest
war and the destruction that war
brings…