Guernica

This is an anti-war painting by Picasso on the year 1937. It has been regarded as the one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history by many art critics. It has been believed that this painting was a response to the bombing of Guernica located in northern Spain.

The scene in the painting 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. The major focus of the painting is the large gaping wound in the horse’s side. 

Under the horse is a dead and dismembered soldier. In his hand is where a flower grows from his shattered sword. Then up above over the suffering horse, is a light bulb shaped as an evil eye. 


Then on the upper right of the horse, the floating figure is a frightened female, who is witnessing the scenes before her. In her hand she holds a lamp that symbolizes hope.

The first thing I noticed in this painting, I believe it was how the figures are running in terror. Then I noticed a lady crying over a dead child and dead wounded person with a flower in his hand. Also it is hard to notice the figure at the back that looks like he is screaming for help. The artist wanted to show the effects when war occurs, not only the people who are fighting each other are involve but the innocent citizens as well. Many lives are being lost and many are suffering over their losses. Then they will all want one thing, one thing only and that is everything should stop. However despite all the terror and the horror the artist wanted to show he added objects that symbolizes hope and peace. Like mentioned earlier, in the hand of the floating female figure, is the lamp that symbolizes “hope”. And in the hand of the dead wounded person, he holds a flower which I believe symbolizes “peace".