Visual Elements & Design Principles in Guernica by Picasso Discussion – Description
Pablo Ruiz Picasso is a name that most like you are familiar with, even though he was born in 1883 and died fifty years ago. When asked, most students state that he is their favorite artist. I always follow up with the question, why? Why is Picasso still a famous artist of the Twentieth Century? What is his allure?
I particularly love his painting, created in 1937 during the horrific Spanish Civil War. It is a painting of protest, of a terrible bombardment of civilians in the bucolic town of Guernica, on a Monday afternoon while people gathered in the town square. Picasso received a commission from the Spanish Republic, entrenched in a civil war against General Francisco Franco. Upon learning of the destruction, he changed the composition and spent a month working incessantly to finish to complete the massive twelve feet tall by twenty feet long painting.
My grandfather – whom I loved – fought against the Nationalists led by General Franco. Eventually, my grandfather was detained in a concentration camp and escaped. He emigrated to Venezuela a few years after the war. He saw many friends and comrades die and barely made it alive. My father was born during the war amid bombardments. I always think about their slight chance of survival and how I could have never existed!
In this discussion board, students will look at The Guernica and formally analyze it by responding to the following questions.
Read this article found on the LINK and this LINK.
Address these questions:
Identify two visual elements and two design principles in the composition.
How does the medium of painting serve the subject matter of Guernica (the theme it addresses), as opposed to a sculpture, a print, or a photograph?
What would you change in the composition? What would you add or remove from the design to enhance its meaning? This is your opinion, but explain how you think modifying elements in the composition would affect it positively.
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