
Picasso’s work Guernica depicts the bombing of the Spanish town of the same name by Nazis during the events of the Spanish Civil War prior to World War II. It shows a dark night with a single light illuminating the malformed faces of man and animal alike. Some characters cry out in agony while others are unaware as to what has happened. The scene is one of chaos, but with close inspection it can be seen that there is meaning beyond shock value here. The painting can be divided into four overlapping sections; the far left, center left, center right, and far right. Each section depicts another emotion caused by war and the human response to it. 

In the far left portion of a frame a pillar of smoke can be seen accompanied by several blue figures; a fallen man, a bull, and woman. The smoke shows that in this portion of the scene the destruction has already occurred and what is seen is the result. The coloring gives off a cold feeling, one akin to the sorrow associated with loss of the chill of death itself. Picasso has also chosen to depict everyone and everything in a warped and misshapen fashion, showing that the war has warped its victims severely in one way or another. The man at the bottom of the frame lays with his eyes open and body parts blown apart. His utter destruction shows that this war is not a gentleman's war with respect for one’s opponent, but rather one of hate. Above the man there is a woman holding a deceased child, left with nothing else to do but weep. This illustrates how the war is not only affecting its combatants, but the lives of innocents as well. Those who do not even understand the war will be claimed by it. Finally, above all of this there stands a bull with its mouth agape and eyes in awe. Even an animal, as savage as one might think it is, can see the horrors before it and is scarred. The bull may not be dead, but it represents the irreparable mental pain inflicted by the fighting. 

Moving to view the center left portion of the frame the picture contains much more light here. A light bulb illuminates the sky while a horse and the body of the previously mentioned man are destroyed in front of two onlookers. The bulb here may represent the modern technology that the Nazis are using to destroy the town. Much like a bomb it illuminates the town and everything below it is destroyed. The horse’s face shows the unadulterated fear that fills someone during a violent death such as this. At that point we are no different than animals, the fight to survive is all that matters. Below the horse is the man’s body being thrown into the air and blow apart. The man’s head lay motionless back in the left side of the frame while his body is still in motion here. This speaks to the mindless nature of such a conflict. If only the Nazis and those under their influence were to use their minds and think, so much of this conflict could be avoided. The man also holds a sword as well as a flower. The flower could represent the hope for peace and despite being blown apart the man still hold his sword in defence of it.

To the right of this there are two women entering the light with one holding on to an oil lamp that illuminates them. The women with the lamp views the situation as an outsider not currently under attack and gasps in horror. This describes how the rest of the world looked upon this devastation, but could not or would not take action against it. The woman below this appears to be injured and kneeling, this is someone who has felt the destruction of war and is about it again. However, she is limping out of the dark and into the light of the lamp. Meaning that she has not given up hope and will keep moving forward no matter what. They are both about to be engulfed by the light, showing the spread of the war.

The far right of the pictures contains very little compared to the other portions. There is a lone man with his arms raised towards the sky. Aside from a single window in the background this area is very dark and devoid of light. The man appears to be desperately crying out to the sky, and possibly the bombers above to cease the attacks creating a strong anti-war message similar in tone to that of the Chinese tank man or Buddhist burning monks. He may also be reaching for the lit up window in search of safety, creating a visual allegory pertaining to people losing their grasp on hope and being pulled into darkness and despair. Similarly, he could be feeling forsaken and be yelling up at God himself for allowing such atrocities to occur under his watch.

In his painting, Pablo Picasso is able to make large and impactful statements on the effects of war on people’s bodies and minds. Moving from left to right he shows despair, fear, hope, and the loss of hope all while maintaining a strong anti-war theme. By showing the horrors of war themselves Picasso allows the viewer to come to a conclusion on how they feel towards the images without being directly told anything at all. However, this is not without the obvious nudge towards a stance against violence and war via the content itself. 
