The Horrible Inspiration Behind One of Picasso's Great Works
Painted in the wake of a 1937 fascist bombing, "Guernica" has grown to stand for war atrocities experienced all over the world.
Working at great speed in the wake of the bombing at Guernica, Picasso filled a vast canvas with what would become the defining image of the horror of war.
By Toby Saul
PUBLISHED May 8, 2018
Pablo Picasso had been searching for three months for something to paint in April 1937. Living in Paris, the Spanish artist had been given a commission to produce a mural for the Spanish Pavilion of the 1937 Paris World’s Fair. Turmoil had disrupted his process, both in his private life and in the civil war raging in Spain. The horror of this war would give Picasso his inspiration to paint a bold, unflinching vision of the devastation and savagery of modern warfare on everyday people. Picasso’s work, “Guernica,†is one of the 20th century’s greatest works of art and a strong statement against war.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2018/05-06/pablo-picasso-guernica-painting-history/
