Guernica, a town in Basque, was the site of the first saturation air raid of the century. The effects on the town were devastating and left approximately 1700 dead. Picasso seized on this for as subject, and created this enormous mural—the entire painting measures over 275 square feet—in a matter of weeks.The mural is a monochromatic black and white, which sometimes makes the action difficult to distinguish (perhaps creating the chaos that Picasso had in mind). Critics, of course, disagree on many elements of the painting, but some of the elements are agreed upon.
For instance, the brutally wounded horse symbolizes Spain. The dismembered soldier on the ground indicates that the Spanish people are no match for their enemy. Everyone in the painting is screaming, and the fact that the enemy cannot be seen is a chilling reminder of how impersonal modern warfare can be. Picasso himself remained rather quiet on the painting’s meaning, though he did say, “I am expressing my horror of the military caste which is now plunging Spain into an ocean of misery and death.”
