Name:______________________________________________________________
__________________Mr. Vedder - Studio Art
Grisaille Still Life
What is Grisaille?
Grisaille (/ɡrɨ ˈ zaɪ /, French: gris or 'grey') is a term for painting executed
entirely in monochrome or near-monochrome, usually in shades of grey.
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Grisaille paintings resemble the drawings, normally in monochrome, that
artists from the Renaissance on were trained to produce. Grisaille
paintings were also used as imitation sculptures.
A grisaille may be executed for its own sake or as under painting for an oil
painting (in preparation for glazing layers of color over it).
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Paintings executed in brown are sometimes referred to by the more
specific term brunaille, and paintings executed in green are sometimes
called verdaille.
The ceiling frescoes of the Sistine Chapel have portions of the design in
grisaille.
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Grisaille, while less widespread in the 20th century, continues as an
artistic technique. Picasso's Guernica is one example of a contemporary
painting in grisaille.
Grisaille paintings imitating sculptures:
What is a Still Life?
 A still life is an arrangement of inanimate objects, artists use to
draw or paint.
 A still-life arrangement often are made up of vases, flowers,
fruit, bowls, glasses, fabric, etc.
 Still-life arrangements can be made of anything inanimate, such
as keys, shoes, musical instruments, books, speaker
equipment, telephones, toys, etc.
References:
www.artlex.com
Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica”
Pablo Picasso’s Guernica was created to bring the world's attention the
bombing of Guernica, a Basque Country village in northern Spain, by German
and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces on April
26th, 1937 during the Spanish Civil War.
Guernica is a mural sized painting, and shows the tragedies of war and
the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. This work
has gained a monumental status, becoming a perpetual reminder of the
tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace. Upon
completion, Guernica was displayed around the world in a brief tour, becoming
famous and widely acclaimed. This tour helped bring the Spanish Civil War to the
world's attention.
Background
Picasso, who had last visited Spain in 1934 and would never return, was
living in Paris, where he had been named Honorary Director-in-Exile of the Prado
Museum in 1936. In January 1937, he was commissioned by the Spanish
Republican government to create a large mural for the Spanish display at the
Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne at the
1937 World's Fair in Paris.
However, it was only on May 1, having read George Steer's eyewitness
account (originally published in both The Times and The New York Times on
April 28), that he abandoned his initial project and started sketching a series of
preliminary drawings for the mural-size painting, and which he would finish in
early June 1937.
Guernica shows suffering people, animals, and buildings wrenched by violence
and chaos.
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The overall scene is within a room where, at an open end on the left, a
wide-eyed bull stands over a woman grieving over a dead child in her
arms.
The center is occupied by a horse falling in agony as it had just been run
through by a spear or javelin. The large gaping wound in the horse's side
is a major focus of the painting.
Two "hidden" images formed by the horse appear in Guernica:
o A human skull overlays the horse's body.
o A bull appears to gore the horse from underneath. The bull's head
is formed mainly by the horse's entire front leg which has the knee
on the ground. The leg's knee cap forms the head's nose. A horn
appears within the horse's breast.
The bull's tail forms the image of a flame with smoke rising from it,
seemingly appearing in a window created by the lighter shade of gray
surrounding it.
Under the horse is a dead, apparently dismembered soldier; his hand on a
severed arm still grasps a shattered sword from which a flower grows.
On the open palm of the dead soldier is a stigma, a symbol of martyrdom
derived from the stigmata of Christ.
A light bulb blazes in the shape of an evil eye over the suffering horse's
head (the bare bulb of the torturer's cell). Picasso's intended symbolism in
regards to this object is related to the Spanish word for lightbulb;
"bombilla", which is similar to the word "bomba" for bomb in Spanish.
To the upper right of the horse, a frightened female figure, who seems to
be witnessing the scenes before her, appears to have floated into the
room through a window. Her arm, also floating in, carries a flame-lit lamp.
The lamp is positioned very close to the bulb, and is a symbol of hope,
clashing with the lightbulb.
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From the right, an awe-struck woman staggers towards the center below
the floating female figure. She looks up blankly into the blazing light bulb.
Daggers that suggest screaming replace the tongues of the bull, grieving
woman, and horse.
A dove, holding an olive branch is scribed on the wall behind the bull. Part
of its body comprises a crack in the wall through which bright light (hope,
or the outside world) can be seen.
On the far right, a figure with arms raised in terror is entrapped by fire from
above and below. The right hand of the man suggests the shape of an
airplane.
A dark wall with an open door defines the right end of the mural.