Paintings have been used to symbolize multiple things for as long as time can tell. They can be used to represent emotions, make statements regarding events, or represent the event themselves. In Pablo Picasso's Guernica, he uses this mural to make a statement regarding the current events in Spain. This mural was created during a time of great stress in the country, as the Civil War was going on at this time. Picasso painted this piece as an anti-war statement in 1937 after the bombing of Guernica, a small town located in the Biscay province in Basque County. The town was believed to be a central location of the Republican resistance movement, which made it a significant target for attack. After the news of the bombing reached Picasso, he was inspired to create artwork that represented his home country and his feelings regarding the war. In his painting, Picasso uses contrasting colors, arrangement of the figures, and symbols to express the range of emotions experienced by the country at this time. 

The choice of color in this painting represents the tone Picasso wanted to create for his viewers. The black, white, and gray tones of this piece say multiple things. The first thing that comes to mind is the nature of Picasso's first encounter with the horrible event- he first read about the bombing in the newspaper. This influenced him to paint in black and white because newspapers are in black and white, and the dark colors are also used to set the tone of the painting. Using dark colors such as gray and black creates a very somber mood and the colors help to portray the feeling of pain. However, the contrasting white and light gray in this painting also represents the emotions felt by the people of Guernica because the subjects that are portrayed in white are so full of emotion, as exhibited by their body positions and expressions. The light also represents another feeling which contrasts significantly with pain and chaos, and that is hope. Some parts of the painting are very light and bright and draw the viewer's attention and can be interpreted as signs of hope for the people.

There are multiple pieces of this painting that can be viewed as symbols of expressing the emotions of the people during the war. One thing that can be interpreted as a symbol is the contrasting light and dark colors. The dark colors represent the dark feelings felt by the people after the bombing.

The arrangement and body position of each subject of the painting are also used to set the mood and make a statement about the emotions of the population of Spain. The people in the mural are clearly in pain and agony, as is detailed by their facial expressions and body position. For example, the woman on the far left of the painting, in all shades of white, is throwing her head back and has her mouth wide open as if she is screaming or crying. As the viewer's eye follows her lines downward, they can see she is holding a dead child in her arms. This shows the pain that the people of Guernica were thrown into suddenly when the town was attacked and they lost loved ones close to them, and it can also be interpreted as a symbol for the loss of children to the war in other places if they had gone away from home to fight. The woman on the far right of the painting is also throwing her head back and arms up in despair, and it looks as if she is surrendering to the pain and negative emotions of the war. The horse, in the center of the mural, has its eyes and mouth wide open as if in pain, and if a viewer looks closely, they can see that there is a spear in the side of the horse. This shows that not only human lives were lost during the war, but the animals that served alongside them suffered as well. The woman looking in through the window near the right side of the painting has her mouth open, similar to everyone else in the piece, but the expression in her eyes is different. Her eyes are softer and filled with less pain than the others, and the position of her eyebrows indicates concern/shock for the people surrounding her. This is a representation of all the people who were not in Guernica at the time of the attack, and may have read about it or heard about it elsewhere. They are outsiders looking in with shock and concern, and there appears to be nothing they can do about it. 
