Guernica

Guernica

My gut reaction to the painting based on my own subjective opinions is that it represents chaos. Clearly, the subjects of the painting are in extreme pain and suffering. I notice the subjects compose of both man and animal. And this for some reason stands out to me. Usually animals are considered secondary creatures to man, and to spare a moment for their suffering is appreciated. The color scheme used also intrigues the mind. To me it sends the message that we cannot split the world into black or white. We all actually live in gray areas. Nothing is completely right or completely wrong. So an interpretation could be that, the cause of the suffering, the journey through the suffering and the consequences are spread over a gray area. A little background information lets me know that this painting is about war. Wars are fought in the name of protecting the people of a particular country or for conquest. Seeing from that perspective one could call it good and beneficial to the people being protected. But we all know it causes great suffering and loss. Thus, there are multiple perspectives. War is somehow gray rather than black in this way. 

Guernica is located in the province of Biscay in Basque Country. On Monday, 26 April 1937, at around 16:30 Guernica was besieged by warplanes of the German Condor Legion for around two hours. It was charged by Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen. Hitler was using the war as a chance to try out new weapons and strategies. Picasso who had been working on another painting for the Paris exhibition started working on Guernica when he became aware of the incident. He abandoned the previous painting he was working on. Initially, when Guernica was revealed at the Paris exhibition, it accumulated little consideration. But later on, it became strong image of the annihilation of war.

Guernica is an absolute masterpiece. The subjects are not drawn realistically. Rather they are drawn in a more abstract format. This increases the dramatic effect. The colors used are primarily, white, black and grey. The subjects of the painting seem to be randomly placed on the canvas. The complete bodies of the subjects are not shown. Only the relevant parts are shown, such as the face showing anguish. An attempt has been made to highlight every scene of suffering that could have been caused during the war. Lots of straight lines and sharp curves are used. The painting has been shaded in a very clever and skillful way to show depth. The painting has a more three dimensional effect (like a room) than a two dimensional effect. It seems to be darker at the back of this supposed room. There are many important symbols such as the source of light that also looks like a shut eye ( creation of war and also being oblivious to the pain of war).

DECAPITATED HEAD, SEVERED ARM & DROWNING MAN: During the time Guernica was painted, the city of Guernica was suffering terribly in German hands. The symbols of the decapitated head, severed arm & drowning man symbolize the lives lost and the physical torture the people of Guernica went through. The German warplanes unleashed hell on the innocent. Lots of people died and many were handicapped.

MOTHER & CHILD: War not only claims the lives of those fighting the wars but also steals the spirit of those who birthed them. Mothers lost their children. Even if they did not physically die, war killed them from within. In that time period, mothers would have been expected to bear the pain without complaint

HORSE & COW: The horse and cow symbolise the non human sufferers of war. Many animals are used during war. Their lives are given no value. They are killed and nobody truly grieves their death especially during those harsh and cruel times. Animals not directly used in wars but lost as collateral damage also are included. 

EYE: The eye in the painting is shut and is also shown to house a tube light. As absurd as this looks and sounds, it symbolizes that the perpetrators of war have set things in motion and then have looked the other way when it came to the consequences of their actions. It seems as if this eye is somehow the lightsource in the painting. It symbolizes that the germans created the war and gave birth to the suffering (the act of shedding light and illuminating the scene by the light source). The shut eye symbolizes that they did not care about the pain and torment of their victims. They were blind to it or they were pretending they could not see it

ARM HOLDING LIGHT: This symbolizes the artist, Picasso himself. He is further illuminating the scene by immortalising the atrocities faced by Guernica in a painting. It is the pain he wants the people to see. He wants the people to look at war the way it is. War used to be glorified in that time period. He intended to shift perspectives

ETHICAL ANALYSIS

Categorical Imperative: From an unconditional and completely righteous standpoint, War has not justification. Lives are lost for greedy reasons. Between the two parties of war, one is always trying to gain something from the other and these reasons can never justify the loss of even a single life.

Utilitarianism: Sometimes wars are fought in the name of the greater good of the people. If a country’s safety is threatened, defending its citizens through war might be inevitable. But every country should try its best to avoid war. If even the thousandth negotiation is capable of preventing war, so be it. 

Hedonism: There is not pleasure in war. War only causes pain and suffering. Only the truly sadistic and greedy can derive any pleasure from the loss of life and the superficial gain of conquest.

Golden Mean: The only justification of war is defense. Every country has the right to protect its people. And if there is no option left, war becomes the only option.

Golden Rule: At the end of the day, destruction of innocent life cannot be justified even by the devil himself. So anti-war sentiments must be promoted

Veil of Ignorance: The need to subjugate the weak and harm another country for personal gain might stem from narcissism and greed. Hitler’s hunger for power is the cause of the Guernica devastation. Him and many Germans thought of themselves as the superior race forgetting that in reality no man is better than the other. Everyone is equal. 

After studying this painting, I feel that it carries an important message. It is absolutely ludicrous that so much pain was caused in the name of war. What was even the purpose of the war? What good came from the incident in Guernica? We humans have spent a large part of our history destroying lives for reasons that ultimately do not justify the consequences. The important lesson that I have learnt from Pablo Picasso’s Guernica is that no good will ever come from those decisions whose outcomes cannot justify the path chosen in reaching the outcomes. War chooses the path of destruction for the outcome of conquest. Conquering lands does not justify the lives that have been lost in the path of war.