Many works of art have cried out against injustice, but few have been so powerful that they have influenced the world and created a new perspective and understanding of the pains and horrors of war.
Pablo Picasso’s Guernica shows the catastrophes of war and the torment it inflicts upon the individual, particularly on civilians. This work has gained massive status, becoming a continuous reminder of the heartbreaks of war, and a model for peace.
In 1937 a Basque town in the province of Biscay, Guernica was subjected to three hours of destruction by dozens of German and Italian bombers lead by General Francisco Franco, a Spanish military leader and statesman who ruled as the dictator of Spain from 1936 until his death in 1975. He came to power during the Spanish Civil War. More than 1,500 people were killed in a cruel act of war unmatched in European history.
Picasso was asked to create an artwork by Republican Spain that would go in the Paris World Exposition. Up until two months before the exposition Picasso found himself uninspired. But as soon as knowledge of Guernica was exposed to the public Picasso swiftly made it clear to that Guernica would be his subject for the Paris Expo.
He worked non stop for two months to produce the devastating display of the horrors of war in harsh black and white, measuring eleven feet high by twenty-five feet long so large that Picasso had to attach his paint brushes to long sticks to complete it. It is an oil painting on canvas, and is on display at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid. Picasso completed the work of art in June, 1937The scene is filled entirely with horror and mortality from clearly defined suffering characters to intelligently placed hidden images reinforcing the overall destruction.

At the center is a horse, representing the Spanish citizens. A strong, noble animal, with a spear stabbed into it, recoiling in fear. The concerning theme of Guernica is of course death; supporting this, in the centre of the painting is a concealed skull which influences the viewer's subconscious mind. The skull is shown sideways and has been skilfully concealed on the body of the horse, which is also a death symbol. The skull's physical appearance seems appropriate to the modern weaponry used in the bombing. Picasso often hid one or more related symbols within a particular image. Death, it seems to imply, does not stop the pain and suffering.
Underneath the horse lies a dead mutilated soldier, the hand of his severed arm still grasping a broken sword, from which a flower springs up. In the open palm of the dead soldier is a stigmata, symbolic of the sacrifices of Jesus Christ.
Above the head of the impaled horse is a light bulb which glares outward like an evil eye, it can also be likened to the single bulb hanging in a prison cell. Picasso may have also intended the symbolism of the bulb to be associated with the Spanish word for light bulb which is “bombilla”. This brings to mind the word “bomb”, which could symbolize the detrimental impact which technology can have on humanity.
Towards the upper right of the horse is a fearful female figure that appears to be watching the actions in front of her. She seems to have floated through a window into the room. Her floating arm is holding a flaming lamp and the lamp is very close to the bulb, symbolizing hope and is in opposition to the light bulb. Staggering in from the right, below the floating female figure, is a horror-struck woman who looks up vacantly into the glaring light bulb. The tongues of the grieving woman, the bull, and the horse are shaped like daggers, which suggest screaming. A bird, probably a dove, is perched on a shelf behind the bull and seems to be in panic. On the far right of the painting, a person with arms extended in sheer terror is trapped by fire from below and above. A shadowy wall that has an open door becomes the right end of the painting.
To the left of the horse is a woman weeping over the body of her dead child. This is one of the more universal images of Guernica in its portrayal of the ultimate tragedy of war as well as this obvious symbolism the woman’s body also forms a skull with the dark, round area surrounded by her body and the bull forming an eye, the woman’s skirt forming the nose, and the fallen soldiers arm stretched out below her forming the jaw.
At the other end of the painting is a person crying out from within a burning house who also appears to be being eaten alive by a monster. This home will provide no sanctuary from the attack.
The bull on the left is a most mysterious figure whose posture both mimics the horse, their bodies and heads are both positioned in the same direction, and contrast it. While the horse recoils and screams, the bull stands mostly still, with a slight look of alarm on its face. It has been said to represent such widely divergent subjects as the Spanish people on the one hand and Franco on the other. A more convincing argument is that this figure standing aside from the action, not directly affected but reacting to it non the less, represents Picasso himself, especially in light of the very personal depictions of bulls in several of his other artworks.
The use of iconic images rather than naturalistic reproductions strengthens the power of the painting. No horse could ever look so contorted and terrified as the one in Guernica.
Picasso’s images remove us from the specifics of the devastation of Guernica to the more general and universal suffering inflicted by war. The features of the battle, including the horse, bull and weaponry are not singularly relevant or evident in the actual historical proceedings that took place in Guernica, but that does not stop these images from retaining their relevance and intimacy of the events.
It became his first commissioned work and was overtly political for one of Picasso’s masterpieces. Picasso’s role as a representative of Spain was meant to bring the world’s attention to the coming danger of fascism the country’s future, which hung in the balance as General Francisco Franco and his army, threatened to overthrow the Spanish Republic and take over the country.

Comparing Pablo Picasso’s Guernica and Francisco de Goya’s Executions of the Third of May, 1808, brings up many differences in each of the artists styles but also reminds us as to how much each is the same when it comes to content. The formal visual elements are very different at first glance but once you dive into the paintings you can see many similarities that lead to the subject matter and content. Visual elements are important in creating any work of art. They are the foundation that helps to bring to life the subject matter.
The painting's content, presentation, and emotional force secure its status as a groundbreaking, representative image of the revulsions of war. Although it draws on the foundations of both high and popular art, The Third of May marks a clear break from convention. Departing from the traditions of Christian art and traditional interpretations of war, it has no distinct model of which to compare it against, and is acknowledged as one of the first paintings of the modern era.
The Third of May is set in the early hours of the morning after a fight or argument between two groups of men. The first a menacing firing squad, the other a disorganized group of captives held at gun point. Executioners and victims face each other abruptly across a narrow space, de Goya has contrasted the fierce presence of the soldiers’ attitudes and the hard line of their rifles. A square lantern placed on the ground between the two groups throws a dull light across the scene. The brightest light falls on the huddled victims to the left, who includes a monk in prayer. To the right and at the center of the canvas, other figures stand next in line to be shot. The central character is the brilliantly lit man kneeling amid the bloodied corpses of those already executed, his arms flung wide in either a plea for his life or in defiance. His yellow and white clothing repeats the colors of the lantern.
The first of the formal visual elements are line, shape and form. The line in Guernica seems to be very rounded and flowing which lends to the feeling of movement in the painting, where as the line in Executions of the Third of May, 1808 are soft and at the same time direct. The sharp lines in this painting seem to imply force and inevitability. The shapes that make up each it can be seen that Picasso uses numerous geometrical shapes to direct the eye across the surface and the shapes where as de Goya’s painting is created in a more realistic manner. Picasso’s form is very representative and at the same time abstract. It can be seen that people and animals are the prominent features of the art piece from the design of the lines. De Goya’s form is also representational but in a naturalistic way. We know that what we are looking at are people and some kind of struggle, where as in Guernica the struggle is suggested in the structural representation. The other areas of visual elements to touch on would be texture and color.
In each painting volume plays a significant role. In Guernica, the shift from light to dark is abrupt and does not flow into each other. With this kind of swift shift it takes on a much more two-dimensional result. It becomes difficult to tell what is in the front and what is in the background, the layers become almost like an illusion there is the obvious characters, i.e. the horse, bull and weeping woman. But there are also hidden images i.e. the skulls, the burning building and the severed limbs lying astray within the piece. In de Goya’s paintings the flow of the painting creates a much more life-like effect. It is also playing a central role by guiding our attention to important events of the picture. Color is used in a similar way in de Goya’s work. The colors are dark and almost drab with the exception of the brightness that is used with white and yellow to create drama. The colors in Guernica are far less obvious and it could be said that they are virtually non-existent. Picasso used only shades of black and white, which are used also to showcase the drama of the scene. All of these formal visual foundations are used to bring the subject matter to life.
The subject matter in both works of art is very similar. They both are depicting senseless violence that obliterates people, places and things, the type of heartache that destroys nations and creates war. In Picasso’s painting at first glance you notice the suffering and the torment, you can almost feel it. In de Goya’s painting you can see anguish but there is also helplessness that can be clearly seen on the face of the man pleading for his life. Both of these paintings were used as a kind of report or evidence of the crimes that took place. They are memories of horrific events. They also both have become well-recognized symbols of the fight for peace. Each artist in his own way had become part of the slaughter to bring it into awareness. You can clearly see each has their own style and way of bringing it to life but they both have very similar ideologies on war.