Picasso's Guernica Now Home in Madrid, Spain
The Most Famous Painting of the Spanish Civil War is Now in Madrid
May 13, 2009
Guernica, Picasso's Anti-War Painting
This huge panorama of intense political meaning, a large 1937 anti-war painting is beautifully lluminated. The lighting in the Gallery has been changed from yellow to white the better to show off the painting, and the surrounding walls of the area where it hangs have been torn down so that visitors can view it from the front as it should be viewed. Formerly people had to walk around it or view it fromone side.
Guernica came about because the Spanish Government of the day commissioned Pablo Picasso to paint a large mural for the World’s Fair in 1937 Paris. Inspired by the bombing of Guernica, within 15 days the artist had completed the painting, a work that epitomizes the tragedy of war and the suffering brought about by armed conflict. The painting travelled the world, becoming famous. It was, and is, widely acclaimed and it helped bring the Spanish Civil War to the world's attention.
It arrived in London on the day the Munich Agreement was signed by the leaders of the UK, France, Italy and Germany.
Guernica by Pablo Picasso Displayed at Reina Sofia Gallery, Madrid
The Museum has recreated the atmosphere of 1937 when Guernica was first seen at the Paris Universal Exposition and they have included peripherals like images of the period by photographers like Robert Capa, Best of all, and not to be missed, is an anti-war movie originally shown at the Spanish pavilion. It was produced by the Sub-Secretariat de Propaganda and directed by Jean Paul Dreyfus from the text of Las Hurdes (Tierra Sin Pan) which I think translates as Famine. It was shot in Spain in June 1937 and Luis Bunuel also had a hand in the direction.
Although grainy and with scratchy sound, the images are stark and vivid and it is a remarkable document to have survived. Watching this film with the hordes of school-children who file in silently to watch it is to be aware of a history that is only now being thoroughly examined.
With the display of photgraphs and the exhibitions in nearby rooms, quite a few hours can be spent in the Reina Sofia Museum of Modern Art, just concentrating on the Spanish Civil War period.
There are more Picasso painting on show in the Gallery, alongside works by Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Gris and Gonzalez. The Gallery deals with art from the 19th century to the present day and is well represented.
Free on Saturday afternoons, closed Sunday but open Monday when most others are closed.
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