Guernica
2009.04.13 23:01
BBC recently ran a story about Pablo Picasso’s painting of the Guernica bombing, in remembrance of the tragic event, which occured on April 26, 1937.
Guernica, a historical Basque town in the Biscay province, was victim to a particularly controversial type of air-raid bombing –known as “terror bombing“– during the Spanish Civil War.
Immortalized in Picasso’s painting above, and in a sculpture by René Iché, the bombing of Guernica has become one of the most famous cause célèbres of the cruelty of war –apart from the bombings of Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Vietnam.
In 2003, a replica of the painting that hung on the wall of the United Nations building in New York was covered whenever U.S. officials held press conferences arguing for an invasion of Iraq –the covering said to be for “technical reasons”, although it was more likely due to the painting’s power to evoke deep shame and public conscience against any kind of war, ever again.
In BBC’s piece, Gijs van Hensbergen, an expert on Picasso’s works, presents an interpretation of the Guernica painting, “dissecting” it piece by piece according to the characters captured in the drama by this remarkable work of art: of the Wounded Horse, the Bull, the Head, the Mother and Child, and the Three Women.
Overall, the article is a fine read to know about Guernica, and find out more about it.
For me personally, the article came in time when I had recently stumbled upon this particular book about the Basque people: “The Basque History of the World”, by Mark Kurlansky. I’ve always had an interest in the Basque people, who are said to be among the living ancestors of Europe, and are admiringly proud of their sense and aspirations of independence.
So I’m still trying to get a copy of the book, and I hope it’s as good as I expect it to be. The cover itself looks interesting enough, though as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover. As soon as I do get a copy, I’ll read it and hopefully have time to write a review.
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