Madrid art: The Guernica
Out of all the painting I saw in Madrid, the Guernica by Pablo Picasso left the biggest impression on me. I think what drew my attention to this painting was how chaotic it looked. I had to really focus on this painting because there was so much going on. One thing I really like about this painting was the color of it because it goes along with the theme Picasso was going for. The black, grey, and white color mad the image look depressing but interesting to look at. I like how you can tell when the light hits from the sun and how the artist played with shadows. Another thing that stood out to me was the figure he used. to my interpretation, he painted a bull and horse to represent Spain culture, a mother grieving her baby to represent people who lost someone in the bombing of Guernica, and made the painting chaotic to resent how chaos and sadness the bombing brought to Spain. I could look at this painting for hours and still be amazed by it.
Like I pointed out in the paragraph above, this painting was inspired the bombing of Guernica in 1937. They would bombed by Nazi Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen (Wikipedia). These bombing was very unexpected (declare as terror bombing) and many people lost their lives that day. It was Guernica's market day and many people were in the middle of the town (wikipedia). The main victims of this bomb was women and children. It important historically because it suppose to remind people the ugly side of wars and what they lost to get to where they are known. It is also suppose to show how cruel the bombing was. It shows how defenseless the victim were and how these attack was "directed at the core of mankind" (wikipedia). It's a constant reminder how that bombing shouldn't have happen.
The Guernica by Pablo Picasso helps strengthen Madrid as a cultural capital by letting history be a huge part of their city. History is a huge part of a cultural capital because a city isn't born in a day. They aren't afraid to show the cruelness of war/attacks. Picasso wasn't also afraid to call out that this bombing was unfair at the time the bombing happened. Having Madrid hold this painting in the city, shows how impactful this bombing was to Spain. It also shows how history and art combined can created something so interesting and impactful at the sometime. It shows that Madrid can be creative and bring attraction to the city and also remind people of their painful past. To sum it up, The Guernica helps strengthening Madrid was a cultural capital by incorporating art and history to the piece.
The Guernica attracts visitors from around the world which draws great attention to Madrid because it is a hub of modern art. The painting has such a powerful message that is received well by all. This sparks important discussions in Spain which adds to the culture of Spain.
ReplyDeleteI loved how you discussed the Guernica—it gives a powerful introduction to the art with the inclusion of your personal response to the piece. You did an awesome job discussing how this particular monument contributed to the cultural capital of Madrid. The city of Madrid is open with its tragic past, as shown by this monument, and your writing about the art displays this idea well.
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