The above image is that of the mural titled, Guernica, created in 1937 by the artist Pablo Picasso. When questioned about the meaning of aspects of the mural Picasso responded with, "...this bull is a bull and this horse is a horse... If you give a meaning to certain things in my paintings it may be very true, but it is not my idea to give this meaning. What ideas and conclusions you have got I obtained too, but instinctively, unconsciously. I make the painting for the painting. I paint the objects for what they are." Not to undermine or dispute Picasso's statement but aspects of the mural do have meaning, provided you understand the cultural context in which the mural was created.Spain at the time of this mural's creation was in the middle of a civil war between the Republican government forces in charge and the Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco. Franco's regime attracted the attention of Nazi Germany and Italy. On April 26, 1937 the Condor Legion, an elite aerial unit of Hitler's Luftwaffe created to practice battlefield tactics, bombed the small Basque town of Guernica in Spain. Guernica was the central point for the Basque people who resisted the Nationalist forces of Franco. The original population of the small town was only about 5,000 people but the day of the attack was a Monday which would have been a market day. A market day would have attracted people from the surrounding areas into the town. For three hours the bombing continued. Anyone trying to flee the town was mowed down by the planes above. When it was all done around 1,600 people were killed. The Condor Legion was under control of Leiutenant Colonel von Richthofen. After the attack occured Richthofen denied the that the target was Guernica and instead stated that the intended target was a bridge nearby. Not a single one of the 24 aircraft hit the bridge, or the arms factory or railway nearby.
Picasso had been commissioned prior to paint the mural centerpiece for the Republican Spanish Pavillion at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris. After the attack on Guernica he recieves his inspiration for the mural. After the fair Picasso's artwork tours Europe and North America from WWII to 1981 raising awareness about the fascist regimes on the rise and the Spanish Civil War. It travels everywhere but Spain, because Picasso refused to let it travel there until they had democracy and civil liberty. Picasso dies in 1973 and Franco dies in 1975. On October 25, 1981, the 100th anniversary of Picasso's birth, the Spanish government finally returns Guernica to Spain where Picasso always intended it to go.
http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/guernica_nav/main_guerfrm.html
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/guernica.htm
