A Crtique of Stokstad and Cothren’s Coverage of Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica”
LISA ELLIS
ART 2.3
DECEMBER 2, 2011
A CRTIQUE OF STOKSTAD AND COTHREN’S COVERAGE OF PABLO PICASSO’S “GUERNICA” Located on pages 1062-1063 of the 4th Edition (Volume II) of our textbook -Art History- are five paragraphs of commentary on Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” perhaps his most well known painting. In those five paragraphs, Stokstad and Cothern offer a fairly accurate and concise description of the historical events leading to the creation of the masterwork and a description of some of the imagery depicted in the painting itself. Unfortunately, Stokstad and Cothern do not offer any insight as to the legacy of the painting. Nor do they offer any examples of how the images contained in the painting have been utilized for contemporary purposes. Stokstad and Cothern begin their commentary of Guernica by very briefly outlining the political climate of Spain in 1937 and the circumstances surrounding the bombing of the small town of Guernica on April 26, 1937 that served as the inspiration for the painting. During the course of Picasso’s life, his country of Spain had been in almost continuous turmoil. Spain was defeated in the Spanish-American War of 1898, several prime ministers had been assassinated, countless strikes and uprisings from the population had occurred, and military dictatorships came and went. In 1931 the Spanish Republic was established but faced numerous challenges related to reform. Economic reforms sought to redistribute the wealth of the landowners, the church, and those in the military. Wealthy members of these groups all resisted the changes implemented by the new government and after several years of struggle, these factions re-gained control of the government away from the Republicans. However, early in 1936, a united group comprised of Republicans, Socialists, Communists, labor unions, and even anarchists achieved a decisive political victory at the polls over the wealthy. They gained control of the government away from the
ART 2.3
DECEMBER 2, 2011
A CRTIQUE OF STOKSTAD AND COTHREN’S COVERAGE OF PABLO PICASSO’S “GUERNICA” Located on pages 1062-1063 of the 4th Edition (Volume II) of our textbook -Art History- are five paragraphs of commentary on Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” perhaps his most well known painting. In those five paragraphs, Stokstad and Cothern offer a fairly accurate and concise description of the historical events leading to the creation of the masterwork and a description of some of the imagery depicted in the painting itself. Unfortunately, Stokstad and Cothern do not offer any insight as to the legacy of the painting. Nor do they offer any examples of how the images contained in the painting have been utilized for contemporary purposes. Stokstad and Cothern begin their commentary of Guernica by very briefly outlining the political climate of Spain in 1937 and the circumstances surrounding the bombing of the small town of Guernica on April 26, 1937 that served as the inspiration for the painting. During the course of Picasso’s life, his country of Spain had been in almost continuous turmoil. Spain was defeated in the Spanish-American War of 1898, several prime ministers had been assassinated, countless strikes and uprisings from the population had occurred, and military dictatorships came and went. In 1931 the Spanish Republic was established but faced numerous challenges related to reform. Economic reforms sought to redistribute the wealth of the landowners, the church, and those in the military. Wealthy members of these groups all resisted the changes implemented by the new government and after several years of struggle, these factions re-gained control of the government away from the Republicans. However, early in 1936, a united group comprised of Republicans, Socialists, Communists, labor unions, and even anarchists achieved a decisive political victory at the polls over the wealthy. They gained control of the government away from the
Bibliography: Arnheim, Rudolph. Picasso’s Guernica: The Genesis of A Painting. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1962. Chipp, Herschelb B. Picasso’s Guernica: History, Transformations, Meanings. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. Gieseke, Lena. “Guernica 3D.” YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKVCov-XFXw&list=FLE1cN_iBWc-BNaUI8bng4-A&index=3&feature=plpp_video. Hizli, Serdar. “Pablo Picasso: His Life, Works, and Art.” Serdar-Hizli Collection. http://serdar-hizli-art.com. Oppler, Ellen C. Picasso’s Guernica. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1988. van Hensbergen, Gijs. “Piecing Together Guernica.” BBC News Magazine. Last modified April 6, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7986540.stmhttp://.