03/12/15 - Pablo Picasso (Spain, 1881-France, 1973) paints the Guernica for the Spanish Pavilion at the International Exhibition in Paris, in 1937, strongly moved by the German bombing of the city of Guernica. Although he had seen the terrible photos published by the French newspaper L’Humanité, the painting does not directly mention the bombing. It was conceived as an universal plea against the brutality and terror of war. A bit static, like a frozen image, the canvas represents the Spanish Civil War. We see a woman, a bull and a horse, all of them with expressions of extreme pain. The woman, on the left, shows the pain with her mouth opened, her tongue as a dagger and her eyes turned into needles.  The greys and blacks enhance the tragedy.

Throughout the years, the Guernica has become an emblem of armed conflicts in our society. The painting occupies an entire room at the Reina Sofia Museum, in Madrid. Always well guarded, photography is not allowed and silence and distance is required. However, in spite of all these restrictions, the room is always crowded by visitors. It is the most visited work in Spain.
Picasso still shines. He is the only artist with three museums dedicated to his work (in Málaga, Barcelona and Paris) and the most expensive artist in the history of art sales. 

There's a story that tells that once a Nazi member visited Picasso at his Paris' studio, where he kept a copy of the Guernica (the original one was then on display at the MoMA in New York). Pointing at the copy, the visitor asked  “Did you do that?" Picasso answered: “No, You did".

Keep reading... "Picasso’s Granddaughter, Diana Widmaier Picasso, Is Evolving the Legacy of the World’s Most Famous Artist", by Alexander Forbes (Nov. 26, 2015), Artsy Editorial.