The government of the Spanish Republic acquired the mural "Guernica" from Picasso in 1937.
When World War II broke out, the artist decided that the painting should remain in the custody
of New York's Museum of Modern Art for safekeeping until the conflict ended. In 1958 Picasso
extended the loan of the painting to MoMA for an indefinite period, until such time that
democracy had been restored in Spain. The work finally returned to this country in 1981.
An accurate depiction of a cruel, dramatic situation, Guernica was created to be part of the
Spanish Pavilion at the International Exposition in Paris in 1937. Pablo Picasso’s motivation for
painting the scene in this great work was the news of the German aerial bombing of the
Basque town whose name the piece bears, which the artist had seen in the dramatic
photographs published in various periodicals, including the French newspaper L'Humanité.
Despite that, neither the studies nor the finished picture contain a single allusion to a specific
event, constituting instead a generic plea against the barbarity and terror of war.
Gernika (bask.) Zerstörung durch Condor April 1937, Auftrag von Regierung für Weltausstellung
in Paris 1937
Picasso-Guernica-info
1937
Remember that Guernica was not a normal artwork for Mssr. Picasso. Unlike his
normal paintings, it did not come from his own artistic desires. It came from a
commission by the Spanish Government (the Spanish Republicans) for an
artwork they could display in the Spanish Pavilion in the 1937 World’s Fair and
raise money for war refugees.
Even though Picasso was born in Spain and was the Director-in-exile of the
Prado Museum in Madrid, he was not particularly attached to the country, and
had last visited it in 1934 (which would be his final visit). He had lived in France
for many years and was much more comfortable there. He took the commission
because if was profitable for him, and would gain him further good pr. But he
wasn’t excited about it all and was lackadaisical in working on it for months.
Then Baron von Richthofen and his Nazi planes bombed the small Spanish
village of Guernica. The men were mostly away, and the bombs demolished the
town, killing the women and children. Picasso’s friend, poet Juan Larrea, rushed
to him and said he must change the mural and make it about the tragedy of
Guernica. Picasso read the accounts and began sketching. Here are some of
his sketches.
