The Spanish Civil War

In the 1930’s the world faced a world wide great depression…

There was poverty and unrest. Many felt that a communist government might hold answers to relieve the misery…

Others turn to fascist dictators.

In Spain, the government

would face a test when force on the “right” who

were anti-communist,

would face those on the “left.”

The side on the right were called NATIONALISTS and the side on

the left were called

REPUBLICANS

This clash became a civil war, which cost Spain billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives.

Hitler and Mussolini supported the right, and Stalin supported the left.

The Spanish Civil War

served as an opportunity to

“test” their weapons,

including tanks and planes,

Those who were on the left were also against the power of the Catholic church. As a result,

thousands of nuns and

priests were slaughtered.

Hitler sent his famous “Condor Legion.” This was a group of skilled pilots with new planes that were

skilled at dive bombing..

Their most infamous

attack was the bombing of the city of

Guernica

The Tragedy of Guernica Town Destroyed In Air Attack

“A group of women and children. They were lifted high into the air, maybe 20 feet or so, and they started to break up. Legs, arms, heads, and bits and pieces flying everywhere.”

Full newspaper account of the event: http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/art/picasso-guernica.htm

Pablo Picasso, a Spanish

painter, chose to use this bombing of the town as

the theme for a very large

painting.

“Guernica” Painting

“Guernica” was meant to be an anti-war symbol used to show the death, violence, brutality, suffering, and helplessness that war brings. It is presented in black and white to represent the lifelessness of newspaper photographs that are so frequently seen in times of conflict.

The painting is almost the size of one wall of your classroom. It is done in

black, grey, and white.

The images are startling. Picasso tried to be secretive about the painting’s meaning…

but we have clues about why he included certain drawings.

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

The Bull in the painting is a symbol of Spain. The bull “observes” the

destruction in front of him.

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

of battle.

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

The slashes on the horse are representative of newsprint—the newspaper that lists those who

have died.

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

There are terrible images—a woman

holding a dead child.

A person burning in a fire…

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

Guernica has come to be one of the most famous paintings of our modern

age--

Images of Guernica

• Guernica shows disturbing images meant to draw the onlooker’s attention to the many aspects of what goes on during war. These include:

– A mother grieving over her lifeless child, clasped in her arms

– A mangled soldier strewn about under his wounded horse

– Daggers from the tongues of the woman, bull, and horse

– A figure trapped, in the right hand corner, by the surrounding flames.

– A human skull forms the shape of the horse’s nose and mouth.

– An unsettling light, in the shape of an eyeball, oversees the scene.

– A frightened woman watches the scene taking place before her, unable to comprehend the horrific sight.

At the end of the war, Franco emerged as the leader of Spain,

Picasso had sent the painting to New York and said it should only return to Spain when Franco

died..

In 1981, Guernica was finally sent back to Spain. There it can be seen today…a

masterpiece of modern painting.

The image is still used today to protest war and the destruction that war

brings…