Guernica - Pablo Picasso

Question 1

Choice of subject matter

Talk about animals and their symbolism

Answer 1

• Picasso’s painting “Guernica” is based on the events of April 27th, 1937, when Hitler’s powerful German air force bombed the village of Guernica in northern Spain, a city of no strategic military value.
• It was history’s first aerial saturation bombing of a civilian population.

Question 2

Choice of subject matter:

Exam

Answer 2

• Picasso’s painting “Guernica” is based on the events of April 27th, 1937, when Hitler’s powerful German air force bombed the village of Guernica in northern Spain, a city of no strategic military value.
• Picasso painted animals such as the bull. The bull is depicted with a dark body and white head. The bull appears to be stunned or shocked at the horror surrounding him. It is said that the bull is to signify brutality and darkness.
• He also included a soldier on the foreground. The soldier is made up of body parts and is not a completed body. We can see his head and sections of his arms on the floor. This could represent the mutilation of soldiers throughout the war. it also reflects the deconstruction forms often found in Cubism.

Question 3

Subject matter & symbolism (Bull)

Answer 3

• The bull is depicted with a dark body and white head.
• The bull appears to be stunned or shocked at the horror surrounding him.
• It is said that the bull is to signify brutality and darkness.

Question 4

Subject matter & symbolism (Mother with dead child)

Answer 4

• Underneath the image of the bull sits a mother clutching a dead child. Her head is facing the sky in an anguished cry, her eyes in the shape of tears.
• This image is meant to resemble the classic Catholic image of the Virgin and Child, albeit tainted by war.

Question 5

Subject matter & symbolism (Pigeon)

Answer 5

• The pigeon can be found between the bull and the horse. it is not very clear as it appears to be just a flash of white.
• This could be considered as a representation of broken piece of fading hope in the distance.

Question 6

Subject matter & symbolism (Dead soldier)

Answer 6

• The soldier is made up of body parts and is not a completed body. We can see his head and sections of his arms on the floor.
• This could represent the mutilation of soldiers throughout the war. it also reflects the deconstruction forms often found in Cubism.
• This soldier is holding a broken sword and a single flower.
• The sword could represent justice and bravery while the flower could suggest how hope can flourish, even amongst such devastation.

Question 7

Subject matter & symbolism (Light bulb)

Answer 7

The light bulb within the eye could suggest the view of the artist across the events of the war or even the view of God looking across the chaos of mankind.

Question 8

Subject matter & symbolism (Horse)

Answer 8

The horse is situated in the centre of the of the painting. Its stretched-out legs could be giving the painting a sense of movement and urgency.

Question 9

Subject matter & symbolism (Oil lamp)

Answer 9

The oil lamp acts as a source of light, illuminating the pitcure and represents a ray of hope for the people in Guernica.

Question 10

Subject matter & symbolism (Imploring man)

Answer 10

• The man to the far right of the painting seems to be pleading at the sky, perhaps at the German planes above to stop the bombing.
• He cries amongst flames, and it has been suggested that he represents the execution of rebels in the war.
• Perhaps Picasso wanted to present this abstract, journalistic artwork as a form of communication.

Question 11

Consideration of style

Exam

Answer 11

• Guernica shows a clear influence of Cubism. You can see this style in the collection of simple, interlocking geometric shapes. This is particularly evident in the centre of the painting where there is a cluster of sharp, angular lines to suggest limbs, overlapped with various triangular shapes.
• This Cubist imagery is in the context of a political painting.
• Picasso has abandoned the idea of a single viewpoint which is typical of the cubist style. The horse’s head on the other hand, is tilting back at an angle, showing perspective.
• Picasso’s influence of African tribal masks is evident in this piece with the stylized, simplistic features of the faces.

Question 12

Visual element (Colour)

(links to mood and atmosphere)

Answer 12

• Picasso has used a monochromatic colour scheme of white, grey and black for his painting, Guernica. This could be to represent the death and destruction caused by the Germans during the Spanish Civil War.
• The lack of colour shows a lifeless, ghostly atmosphere without any warmth from hot colours or emotion from cold colours.
• The greyscale used within this piece and absence of colour could reflect the greyscale form of the newspapers that the public would gather their information.
• The sharp alternation of black and white contrasts across the painting surface also creates dramatic intensity, a visual kinetic energy of jagged movement.

Question 13

Visual element (Tone)

(links to mood and atmosphere)

Answer 13

• Picasso has used black for the background and has used lots of white and light greys in the foreground; this gives the painting a strong sense of depth.
• He has also used the lightest tones to draw your attention to certain figures in the composition. For example, the triumphant bull, the matador lying dead on the ground and the crying mother. Your eye is drawn around the painting, covering all of these figures and symbols.
• By using white across these various figures, Picasso has achieved a balance in tone whilst creating a very chaotic Composition.
• The tone also adds vague structure and depth to the flat abstract shapes. The tones used are unblended, opaque and abrupt which creates an intense atmosphere.

Question 14

Visual element (Line)

(links to mood and atmosphere)

Answer 14

• Picasso has used very sharp angular lines that contrast with the solid curved lines. This reflects a strong influence of Cubism, typical of Picasso’s style of that time.
• He has used bold outlines to create focal points in the painting and to make sure none of the subjects get lost amongst the chaos.
• Picasso also uses line to add detail to the geometric silhouettes and divide up the larger shapes into smaller sections.

Question 15

Visual element (Shape)

(links to mood and atmosphere)

Answer 15

• With a strong Cubist style evident in this painting, many of the shapes are angular and geometric.
• Picasso painted overlapping, angular shapes behind some of the figures. This may represent the destruction of the city around the people.
• Most of the forms have been flattened to 2D shapes, showing a single viewpoint. This is typical of the Cubist style, but it may also be to represent the lack of life left after the bombing.

Question 16

Visual element (Texture)

(links to mood and atmosphere)

Answer 16

• The suggestion of newspaper print with repeated vertical dashes gives texture to the horse and this may also be a throwback to Picasso’s early “Journal” Cubist artwork.
• Much of the artwork presents a smooth texture with flat tones and clean lines.
• However, specific areas such as the wall in the background and wrinkled hand in the foreground show contrasting textures to create certain areas of interest and draw your eye towards different areas.

Question 17

Visual element (Pattern)

(links to mood and atmosphere)

Answer 17

• A striking, irregular pattern has been created through the repetition of triangular shapes. This jumbled collection of geometric shapes creates a chaotic pattern and enhances the idea of turmoil and confusion experienced in Guernica.
• This irregular pattern contrasts with the unimposing regular patterns created in the tiled floor, some simple striped fabric and roof tiles at the top of the painting.

Question 18

Composition

Exam

Answer 18

• The chaos caused by Europe’s political instability is evident in Guernica’s composition.
• The jumbled abstract shapes could reflect the mutilation of innocent civilians in Guernica as they become unrecognisable through the destruction.
• The triangle shape has been repeated over and over again to create visual continuity across the artwork.
  The entire painting is split into three areas.
• All three sections are interlocked with geometric shapes such as triangles to give a strong sense of movement.
• There are also two sources of light which cast a triangular shape of lighter tones to draw your eye up and down the painting. This connects elements from opposite sides of the painting.

Question 19

Impact of social, cultural, and/or other influences

Exam

Answer 19

• Picasso was influenced by his classical training his own art experimentation and creation of new art movements and knowledge of art history.
• The Consequences of War by Peter Paul Rubens we can see an influence of the underlying triangle composition of Guernica structure. We can also see the individual influences female characters woman cradling her shield.
• The Third of May 1808 Francisco Goya 1814 we can see a reference to the woman with her arms stretched up to the air crying for mercy is influenced by the central figure being executed in Goya’s painting again highlighted against a dark background with a white shirt.
• Photographer Dora Maar, Picasso’s lover had been working with Picasso since mid-1936 in his studio and teaching him the technique of camera less photography. Taught Picasso the cliché verre technique.

Question 20

Use of materials

Exam

Answer 20

• Guernica was painted using a matte house paint which was specially formulated at Picasso’s request to have the least possible gloss. He used the matte paint so that the white elements in the painting would stand out more.
• Picasso primed the canvas with several layers of reflective white paint, an antiquated paint base used by Leonardo da Vinci. The white primed canvas base was left visible in certain areas as part of the finished work. This was so he could create a reflective surface on the canvas as a base that contrasted with the mass black.

Question 21

Use of scale

Exam

Answer 21

• Guernica is a very large painting on canvas, measuring 3.5 metres in height and 7.8 metres in width. These monumental measurements reflect the catastrophic devastation on the city.
• Because of the size, each time the painting travelled, the canvas had to be removed from the strecher, rolled up, packed and shipped away.
• The scale of the Guernica painting is huge to represent the passion picasso had for what happened to Guernica and to portray his own message on how this was a massive event.

Question 22

Use of techniques

Exam

Answer 22

• In “Guernica” 1937, Picasso primed the canvas with several layers of reflective white paint, an antiquated paint base used by Leonardo da Vinci. The white primed canvas base was left visible in certain areas as part of the finished work. This was so he could create a reflective surface on the canvas as a base that contrasted with the mass black.
• Guernica was painted using a matte house paint which was specially formulated at Picasso’s request to have the least possible gloss. He used the matte paint so that the white elements in the painting would stand out more.
• Picasso completed the Guernica painting in 3 weeks. This meant that Picasso worked very quickly, and this can be seen in the canvas through drip and mistakes that he created.

Question 23

Working methods

Exam

Answer 23

• Picasso completed the Guernica in 3 weeks. This meant that Picasso worked very quickly, and this can be seen in the canvas through drip and mistakes. This style heightens the mood and atmosphere of the work and adds a sense of urgency.
• Guernica was painted using a matte house paint which was specially formulated at Picasso’s request to have the least possible gloss. He used the matte paint so that the white elements in the painting would stand out more.
• Picasso primed the canvas with several layers of reflective white paint, an antiquated paint base used by Leonardo da Vinci. The white primed canvas base was left visible in certain areas as part of the finished work. This was so he could create a reflective surface on the canvas as a base that contrasted with the mass black.

Question 24

Mood and atmosphere

Exam

Answer 24

• The sharp alternations of black and white contrasts across the painting surface also creates dramatic intensity, a visual kinetic energy of jagged movement.
• Picasso has used a monochromatic colour scheme of white, grey, and black for his painting. This could be to represent the death and destruction caused by the Germans during the Spanish Civil War.
• The lack of colour shows a lifeless, ghostly atmosphere without any warmth from hot colours or emotion from cold colours.
• Most of the forms have been flattened to 2D shapes, showing a single viewpoint. This is typical of the Cubist style, but it may also be to represent the lack of life left after the bombing.

Question 25

Visual element - Tone

Exam

Answer 25

• Picasso has used black for the background and has used lots of white and light greys in the foreground; this gives the painting a strong sense of depth.
• He has also used the lightest tones to draw your attention to certain figures in the composition. For example, the triumphant bull, the matador lying dead on the ground and the crying mother. Your eye is drawn around the painting, covering all these figures and symbols.
• By using white across these various figures, Picasso has achieved a balance in tone whilst creating a very chaotic Composition.
• The tone also adds vague structure and depth to the flat abstract shapes. The tones used are unblended, opaque and abrupt which creates an intense atmosphere.