Guernica, Pablo Picasso, 1937
Guernica Factfile:
- In April 1937, Guernica was the first city to be deliberately targeted for aerial bombing
- The raid was also an experiment; Guernica had been untouched by the war up to April 1937. No-one knew what a bombing raid would do to a city.
- Franco’s Nationalists had little air force power, but Nazi Germany was very keen to try out its developing Luftwaffe. Hitler had sent out to Spain his Condor Legion lead by Lieutenant Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen, cousin of the Red Baron of World War One.
- The first bombs fell on the city at 4.30 in the afternoon when the main square in the city centre was hit.
- By the time the Condor Legion had left, the centre of Guernica was in ruins. 1,654 people were killed and 889 wounded.
Spanish Civil War:
- Before the War many Spanish people lived in poverty. Diseases like cholera, malaria and typhoid were common; many people suffered malnutrition. Since the early 1800s Spain had experienced many civil wars and revolts. The wealthy right wing and strong catholic rule clashed with the poor left wing peasants.
- The Nationalists (right wing) lead by General Franco, received the support of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany as well as neighbouring Portugal. The Republican side (left wing) had the support of the Soviet Union, as well as some support from the other ‘allied forces’; Roughly 30,000 foreign nationals from up to 53 nations fought for the republicans including many British
- After the Nationalist victory in 1939, Franco became dictator and stayed in power until his death in 1975. During this period hundreds of thousands of deaths occurred
- Spain finally became a democracy in 1981; 6 years after Franco’s death
Wartime statistics:
- People killed in combat: 200,000
- Numbers of executions carried out: 130,000
- Bombs dropped: 10,000
- Died of malnutrition: 25,000
- TOTAL DEATHS: 365,000
Legacy of Picasso’s Painting:
•some art historians regard Picasso’s Guernica as the most important painting of the 20th Century. Without doubt it is the most important war painting
• Picasso refused to allow the painting to enter Spain until General Franco was dead
• after the bombing of Guernica Picasso joined the communist party in defiance of fascist regimes
• the painting was commissioned to appear in the Spanish exhibition at the World’s Fair in Paris, 1937
•after the World’s Fair the painting did a global tour, bringing the attention of the Spanish Civil War to the whole world. It finally went to New York where it stayed until 1992
•a tapestry of Guernica hangs in the entrance to the United Nations Headquarters in the USA. It was covered up by a cloth for the press conference when Colin Powel declared war on Iraq
• in the early 1970s during the Vietnam war peace protestors held a vigil at the tapestry to campaign for peace
•in 1992 Guernica finally went to Spain. It can be found in the Reina Sophia Museum in Madrid