P o w e r . o f . G u e r n i c a

Last night I watched Simon Schama's show called 'Power of Art' - Picasso, on Public TV. It's an examination of Pablo Picasso's “Guernica,” a giant mural inspired by the 1937 Nazi bombing of the village of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Just when he had completed this work, critics and viewers gave a lurk-warm opinion about it as the work was a combination of images from his personal anguishes even when it was a strong political response to the killings by general Franco. The crying women and children, agonizing horse head, minotaur and all the rest of his signature images combine in this stark and stylistic work(20 ft. long). The pyramid composition is to show the abuse of power over the innocent. The light is not used as in impressionist works, but like in Goya's execution painting where the bright yellow lantern is right in front of the victim. The source of light shows excessive power over the weak. Picasso depicts the single bulb hanging on the top center of the work like in an interrogation room. The most interesting observation in the PBS show was that, in 2003 at the time of the crucial historic presentation in the UN by Collin Powell to justify Iraq war, there was a large print of Guernica(same size?) on the wall behind was told to be covered by a blue cloth. Somebody did not feel the presence of it appropriate!