Bonjour, une âme charitable pour me corriger cela ?
Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso, who is recognized as the most famous Spanish painter. The latter was born in eighteen eighty-one, in Malaga and died in April nineteen seventy-three. It is also the founder of the Cubism Movement, which consists in flattening the objects so as to see all their angles simultaneously, which is the case in Guernica. On top of being a genius in terms of painting, Picasso was a committed artist whose commitment is illustrated by Guernica. The painting is today displayed in the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid and dates back to nineteen thirty nine when a civil war between nationalists and republicans was tearing Spain apart. The famous nationalist Franco will, with the help of the German air force, bomb the little republican city called Guernica. Born in Spain, Picasso decided to denounce this « act of extreme violence » that killed tho thousands persons through a painting that everybody would remember.
As said, the painting belongs to the Cubism Movement, initiated by Picasso, and is painted in black and white with shades of blue and brown. Here, Picasso was certainly keen on accentuating the cruelty of the event through dark colours. If you look closely, you’ll be able to see two interesting things in the composition of the painting : first of all, all the characters are looking to the left, except the bull which is looking at us. Secondly, the lines of the painting reveal a pyramidal construction overhung by a lamp trying to enlighten the event in the hope of a renewal. Moreover, in the top left-hand corner you can see how Picasso caricatured the nationalistic oppressors : with a bull, a virulent spanish symbol famous for its violence. Just below, a woman with tear-shaped eyes is holding in her arms a dead child. Picasso wanted to show the death of the fertility, preventing any renewal. On the lower part, we can see a man lying on the floor whose eyes aren’t aligned, holding a broken sword, showing that the battle between Republicans and Nationalists was unbalanced. There is also a flower next to him, which sounds like an allegory of the fragility of the life. And, the middle part of the painting is dominated by a horse, which affected by the bombing, symbolizes the innocent Spanish people affected by the war. A little bit more to the right, a ghost is holding a candle, and is seemingly surprised. That’s the international community that is symbolized here, because of its inaction ( with the ghost ) despite a willingness to bring to light what happened ( with the candle, symbol of hope ). Next to the ghost, just below, a woman whose leg is broken is staring at the lamp, showing her strength of character : it’s another symbol of hope. Finally, the last element of the painting is a burning house, in the top right-hand corner, and is probably the result of the new weapons tested by Germands during Guernica’s bombing. The character stuck in the house is raising his arms, begging God to save him.
A Picasso sentence sums up well why we chose Guernica : Art is not made to decorate rooms. It is an offensive weapon in the defense against the enemy. Indeed, we chose because Guernica is a famous and universal painting that everyone can understand thanks to simple allegories, but also because it’s not « just a work of art », but a protest against fascism and more than that : a weapon used to denounce war.
Merci beaucoup. 
