Guernica x 2

Thanks for voting for our next tapas selection. It appears that Potatas Bravas is going to pull out a win in the end. No baby pig? Oh well, I have seen lots of yummy looking potato plates on the patio tables of restaurants and bars we’ve past through the streets here, so we’ll order some next time. We did eat two questionable tapas this weekend though. Since every time you order drinks you are given a tapa, it’s always a mystery what you might receive. Usually olives or chips are the norm. Yesterday however, we were given room temperature deep fried sardines at one establishment, and the day before deviled eggs deviled with some unknown substance that I think was meat. The sardines were a bit fishy but palatable, while the deviled eggs were actually quite good. It was the appearance of the eggs that was a bit of drawback as the pureed substance had grayish yellowish color. It’s always a culinary adventure when in new places.

Friday afternoon found us back at the Museo Reina Sophia staring at Picasso’s Guernica. You may recall from previous entries that we visited this museum our first weekend here when the museum had a free day. This time we went with our language school and had an in-depth lecture on the painting from Angel, the school director. Trisha and I were able to catch about 90% of what he was saying (in Spanish of course) compared to our previous 70-80% on other tours with him. By the way, when passing a normal Spanish speaking tour group whose leader isn’t talking extremely slow and enunciated, we catch about 10-20%. Anyway, Angel’s insight into the painting was fascinating and shed a lot of light onto the history of this country and Picasso’s masterpiece. Here is a little of what he taught us:

The Guernica, which is considered by many to be the most important piece of art in Spain, was a direct result of historical events. The background is Spain was in the middle of its civil war, while Pablo Picasso was living in Paris, France among other artist (Picasso was a Spanish native). The Spanish Civil was fought between the legally elected democratic government and right-wing traditionalists led by Francisco Franco. Franco thought he would send a message to his opponents by hitting them where it hurt most. He allowed Hitler to send his new Luftwaffe air force to Spain for a trial run on the town of Guernica, located in northern Spain. Franco chose Guernica as a target since the women, children, and the elderly of his opponents mostly inhabited it. He also chose it because it was close to towns like Bilbao, which was full of foreign journalists who could spread the news and thus increase the demoralization of his enemies. Guernica was decimated on a level that hadn’t been seen before, and wouldn’t be seen until a few years later during WWII.

Picasso heard the news of the bombing, dropped everything he was doing, and began focusing all his attention on a response to the tragedy. He spent months pondering and sketching what the destruction must be like in Guernica. Eventually he began his 286 square foot mural that would be Guernica. Every part of the Guernica would be symbolic of Picasso’s feelings toward Franco, the Spanish Civil War, and war in general. Art experts have written hundred page books on all various details and parts to this painting.

A few key elements are that Picasso used his Cubist style to reflect the shards and disarray resulting from this event. The bull’s head on the left side of the painting symbolizes Franco’s right wing forces, watching the destruction unfold. The horse in the middle of the painting represents Spain’s Republic, wounded and falling. There is a mother with her dead child in her arms and another women running away from the destructiveness of the bombs falling on them. There is a light at the top of the picture that represents God’s eye watching this event unfold.

Picasso displayed the completed Guernica at France’s world fair and it was immediately embraced as a masterpiece. The profound element was its foretelling of the destructiveness that awaited Europe in WWII. Since the picture was condemning of Franco’s facists, who would eventually triumph during the Spanish Civil War, the painting was not allowed in Spain. Instead it was sent to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it would be displayed for the next 30 years. After Franco’s rule ended in 1975, plans were made for its return to the newly competed modern art section of the Museo Sophia Reina in Spain. Picasso never returned to Spain, as he vowed he wouldn’t until Franco was out of power (Franco outlived him).

In the end, our field trip to the museum was fascinating, even though we focused on one painting and the numerous sketches that accompanied it. We also went to the Escorial Monastery his weekend, but we’ll cover that tomorrow. Trisha and I are looking forward to our weeks ahead at work and exploring the city.
p.s. Hi Grandma!