Pablo Picasso Guernica Essay

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The Context of Guernica by Picasso Guernica is an oil painting on canvases made by Pablo Picasso in 1937 and refers to the bombing in Guernica in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The political and and historical context influenced the symbols in the art piece to a great extent.
During 1932 until 1935 the politics were unstable in Spain and the powers changed between the left wing and the right wing which created an increased tension between the two sides in the politic and in the society between the industry and the agriculture. The conflict was between the Nationalists/ Fascists which were supported by Germany and Italy against the Republicans/ Socialists which were supported by the USSR.
The Spanish Civil War started in 1936 and took a drastic turn when German …show more content…

The Nationalist were supported by the farmers and the painting shows that the light (fire) is connected to the people compared to the big electrical light which is above all and represents the Republicans which controlled the industries. The political context is also represented in the art work such as the bull and the horse which represent a bullfighting which was common in Spain and the wounded horse shows that Spain is fighting against it selfe. This also supports the theory that the artwork was made to protest against the war. The social context is that the Spanish public was shocked by the dramatic event and were in pain over their many losses. Which is shown in the screaming and crying mother holding a dead baby which is associated with extraordinary pain the society felt. In the painting we also see how the religious context influence the artwork such as we see dots in the hand of the dead soldier which references Christianity and

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