Painting: Guernica by Picasso
The painting above was done by Pablo Picasso right after the German bombing during the Spanish Civil War. It represents the death, suffering, and bloodshed of Spanish civilians during a time of heightened political unrest. Picasso’s style is consistently geometrical, which explains the sharp shapes and faces that are put together almost like a scrapbook. This “scrapbook” is representative of the pain felt by civilians who wanted no part of the war, which can be seen through the screaming faces depicted. The brownish tones are meant to showcase the almost monotone and direness of the era, almost as if Picasso did not want to point too much light to honor the war as he believed the war was unnecessary. The painting makes me feel sad, not because of the dark colors and the shattered faces but because of what it represents: thousands of innocent people being subjected to pain and violence by arrogant governments and leaders, an occurrence that repeats a lot in our history.
