Pablo Picasso painted Guernica, a massive black, white, and gray painting depicting the bombing of Guernica, Spain by German and Italian warplanes. The painting uses symbolism to represent the violence and suffering caused by the bombing, including images of a wounded horse and a woman holding a dead child. At nearly the size of a classroom wall, Guernica took Picasso months to complete and was originally displayed in Paris to bring attention to the bombing. It was not returned to Spain until after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1981.

2. Pablo Picasso
(1881, Malaga, Spain – 1973,Mougins, France)
“Picasso is a painter, so am I; [...]
Picasso is a Spaniard, so am I;
Picasso is a communist, neither am
I.”
"I have joined a family, and
like all families, it's full of shit"
“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”

3. Pablo Picasso
chose to use this
bombing of the
town of Guernica
as the theme for
a very
large painting.

4. The painting is almost the size of one wall of your
classroom. It is done in black, grey, and white.

5. The images are startling.
Picasso tried to be secretive about
the painting’s meaning…
but we have clues about why
he included certain drawings.

6. He had made drawings earlier
where he did explain their meanings…

7. Guernica took
months to paint.
It was displayed in
Paris.
Let’s take a look at
some of
the symbolism…

9. The Bull in the painting is a symbol of Spain. The bull
“observes” the destruction in front of him.

10. The fallen warrior is from the legend of Parsifal—whose
sword breaks in half at the crucial moment of battle.

11. The fallen warrior is also laid out in a crucifix
position…

12. The slashes on the horse are representative of newsprint—
the newspaper that lists those who have died.

13. The light in the middle of the painting may mean
violence…

14. There are terrible
images—
a woman holding a
dead child.

15. A person burning in a fire…

16. Some say that Picasso painted an open door so
that he could “escape” from the violence.

17. And what about Guernica?—well, after it was
showed in Paris, it was seen in other places, then it
was sent to New York City, where it remained.
BUT IT WAS NOT RETURNED TO SPAIN!!

18. Picasso said it should only return to Spain when Franco died. When
Franco died, the canvas was rolled up and sent back to Spain.

19. In 1981, Guernica was finally sent back to Spain. There it
can be seen today…a masterpiece of modern painting.

21. The image is still used today to protest war and the
destruction that war brings…