ACTIVITY 1. READING - Learn about some art work related to the Spanish Civil war.
1. Salvador Dalí, Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War), 1936
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Salvador Dalí did not take sides during the Spanish Civil War. He seemed to vacillate from one extreme to the other, and his refusal to renounce Nationalism brought much ire from his peers. Nevertheless, his art is no less poignant. Soft Construction with Boiled Beans depicts the state of Spain just before the war. In torment, a disjointed, tortured body tears itself apart. The chaotic absurdity hints at a malevolence that is to cause immeasurable pain to a confused nation. The meaning of the mysterious addition of boiled beans can only be guessed.
2. Salvador Dalí, The Face of War, 1940
Salvador Dalí painted The Face of War after the Spanish War had concluded. He returned home from France (fleeing another war) to find his life in Spain had been destroyed. His home was in ruins, and his sister had been imprisoned and tortured by Nationalists. Dalí fled to the United States, where he painted The Face of War in 1940. His handprint can be seen in the lower right-hand corner of the painting, and despite the interpretation of the snakes representing the treachery of the Nationalists who are seen to have destroyed Spain, Dalí nevertheless met with Francisco Franco in his later life and painted a portrait of his granddaughter.
3. Joan Miró, Help Spain, 1937
The work of Joan Miró is difficult to define. The foundation of his art was most notably surrealist but was influenced by Fauvism and Expressionism. For over two decades, at the beginning of his art career, he managed to keep politics out of his art, but the intensity of the Spanish Civil War forced him to rethink his principles. Invited to the International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life, held in Paris in 1937, Miró quickly realized the event was an opportunity to spread awareness of the plight of the Spanish Republic. Originally designed to be a postage stamp, Aidez L’Espagne evolved into a poster. The theme is a common one – a citizen of Spain, likely a peasant, holding his fist in the air.
4. Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937
In 1937, the Spanish republic asked Picasso to create a large composition for the Paris International Exhibition. This request came just after the most destructive event of the Spanish civil war: the bombing of the small Basque village of Guernica. The commune was destroyed; hundreds had been killed or hurt, all of whom were innocent civilians. Picasso, who was living in Paris at the time, learnt about the ordeal through newspapers. Deeply moved by the testimonies he read and the photographs he saw, Guernica became his enraged cry against this absence of humanity. Picasso’s disdain of the war was evident, and when Nazi ambassador, Otto Abetz stood in front of the piece and asked Picasso if “it was [he] that had made this” Picasso defiantly replied “no, you did”.
ACTIVITY 2 Finding the symbols of the work Guernica by Picasso and match the interpretations.
(1) The Bull (2) The Lightbulb (3) The Horse (4) The Woman (5) The Man with the sword (6) The Dove
A. Picasso didn’t illustrate the bombing in a realistic manner, and there aren’t any bombs depicted in the piece. Instead, Picasso uses a light bulb surrounded by a glowing halo of luminous spikes. This symbolises the flames that tore apart the sky during the bombing.
B. Just under the light bulb the viewer’s attention is drawn to a horse. The animal has been disemboweled by an arrow and is howling in pain. This is emblematic of the suffering inflicted on the Spanish people by the dictators and German bombers. Picasso additionally includes a subliminal skull, formed by the nose and teeth of the horse.
C. The human-eyed bull evokes the fight between man and beast. Without a doubt, we can see the incarnation of Spanish Nationalist and Totalitarian regimes in this animal.
D. It is hardly visible, and looks as though it has been rubbed out. This erasure is symbolic of the peace that disappeared in Guernica during the war.
E. With her head and eyes rolled back, the woman holds her dead baby whilst helplessly reaching out towards the sky. This depiction is reminiscent of portraits of Dora Maar, which Picasso nicknamed “the woman who cries.” Another woman is also shown to the right of the painting: her arms are also raised and her mouth frozen mid-scream. She is surrounded by flames, which are symbolised by the tips of triangles which allude to the explosions caused by the bombs.
F. He is the only man and the only figure lying down in the painting. He has been dismembered yet still holds his broken sword, which is emblematic of his heroic yet futile attempt to fight against the terror. A ghostly flower grows by the fighter’s hand, signifying hope despite the bloodshed- much like the shrouded light provided by the woman’s kerosene lamp.
