The Spanish Civil War And Its Artistic Response

Introduction: On the Origins of the Spanish Civil War and its Artistic Responses

The first half of the twentieth century was an era of destructive warfare. Countless civil and international conflicts spanned the globe, leaving few nations untouched. Although great technological and artistic achievements were made, the era was dominated by harsh economic and social conditions, resulting in a breeding ground of civil unrest, and the rise of violent nationalism (in the form of anarchism, socialism, and fascism). Although Spain was left largely untouched by World War I (1914-1918), the nation was soon ensnared in one of the bloodiest and most complex wars of the twentieth century--the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

The Spanish Civil War officially

By the end of the war in 1939, over five hundred thousands people had died (two-hundred of which perished as a result of systematic killing, mob violence, and torture). Although the Spanish Civil War and its atrocities were public knowledge due to war photography and journalism, few nations responded to the call for aid. Only three nations rushed to arms for Spain--Russia, Germany, and Italy. With the Republicans backed by Stalinist Russia, and the Nationalists supported by fascist Germany and Italy, the war was prolonged for three bloody and violent years. Ultimately, however, the war for the Republicans was a lost cause. No match for the combined industrial strength of the Nationalist, Germany, and Italian military, the Republican army surrendered on April 10th, 1939, marking the end of the Spanish Civil War and the beginning of Francoist Spain

The inventor of cubism, Picasso was a revolutionary, carefully constructing revealing images for decades. A deeply political painter, Picasso during the 1930s took up the brush, to expose the truths of the Spanish Civil War. Creating Guernica (1937) for the Spanish Pavillion in the 1937 World’s Fair, Picasso forever immortalized the atrocities committed on Guernica. The center of Basque nationalism, and Republican resistance, Nationalist and German forces bombed the town of Guernica, on April 26th, 1937, killing two-thousand innocent civilians--in what is known today as the first instance of total war. Using metaphors, Picasso simultaneously condemns the atrocity of Guernica, while heroizing the Republican forces, and Russia’s