The Interpretations of Guernica
The interpretations of Guernica
It is certain to say that Pablo Picasso is one of the most famous and influential artist of the twentieth century. Many of his paintings have deep meaning to them, but the painting Guernica was one of his work that really stood out - to me, at least. The painting was inspired by the bombing of German and Italian forces on the Spanish Basque town called Guernica. The factors in it can symbolize many things and people will have different interpretations on it, but two factors that are boldly present in the artwork and that are controversial between many critics are the bull and the horse. These two elements of the painting have numerous perspectives from many different critics. Also, the absence of critical elements in the painting to the bombing of Guernica plays an important role of how people perceive this painting. An interesting perspective of this painting comes from an American professor of History of Art at the University of Virginia named Frederick Hartt. He relates the bull to a Minotaur: a creature that has a head of a bull and a body of a man. In the ancient Greek and ancient Roman cultures, this hybrid creature is a symbol of violence and rage. Hartt, however, relates the Minotaur to the view of the Surrealists as a symbol to man’s irrational side and contrasts this symbol with the symbol of the horse. Hartt says, “If the Minotaur symbolizes the irrationality of Fascism and man 's mistreatment of man, the horse represents the anguish of Spanish citizens, and the end of civilization.” In contrast to Hartt’s belief of the symbolism in the bull, a poet and a friend of Picasso named Juan Larrea thought the complete opposite. He does not see the bull as a Minotaur that symbolizes irrationality and violence; instead, Larrea see the bull as the representation of the anger and fury of the Guernica people. He believes this because the bull is a “totem” of the Peninsula area. On another note, Larrea and Hartt have simular
It is certain to say that Pablo Picasso is one of the most famous and influential artist of the twentieth century. Many of his paintings have deep meaning to them, but the painting Guernica was one of his work that really stood out - to me, at least. The painting was inspired by the bombing of German and Italian forces on the Spanish Basque town called Guernica. The factors in it can symbolize many things and people will have different interpretations on it, but two factors that are boldly present in the artwork and that are controversial between many critics are the bull and the horse. These two elements of the painting have numerous perspectives from many different critics. Also, the absence of critical elements in the painting to the bombing of Guernica plays an important role of how people perceive this painting. An interesting perspective of this painting comes from an American professor of History of Art at the University of Virginia named Frederick Hartt. He relates the bull to a Minotaur: a creature that has a head of a bull and a body of a man. In the ancient Greek and ancient Roman cultures, this hybrid creature is a symbol of violence and rage. Hartt, however, relates the Minotaur to the view of the Surrealists as a symbol to man’s irrational side and contrasts this symbol with the symbol of the horse. Hartt says, “If the Minotaur symbolizes the irrationality of Fascism and man 's mistreatment of man, the horse represents the anguish of Spanish citizens, and the end of civilization.” In contrast to Hartt’s belief of the symbolism in the bull, a poet and a friend of Picasso named Juan Larrea thought the complete opposite. He does not see the bull as a Minotaur that symbolizes irrationality and violence; instead, Larrea see the bull as the representation of the anger and fury of the Guernica people. He believes this because the bull is a “totem” of the Peninsula area. On another note, Larrea and Hartt have simular
Bibliography: Rudolf Arnheim, The Genesis of a Painting: Picasso 's Guernica (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973) John Berger, The Success and Failure of Picasso (New York: Pantheon Books, 1965) Mary Mathews Gedo, Picasso: Art As Autobiography Frederick Hartt, Art: A History of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture