Annessa Chan:
Set against a black background, this horse head captures our attention with its intense expression. It seems to be screaming up at the sky, and its tongue juts out like a dagger.
The horse was a recurring subject for Picasso, and here you can see him returning to this motif to address the devastation of war. In 1937, with support from the Franco regime, the Nazis bombed the Spanish town of Guernica, wounding and killing hundreds of civilians. News of the attack swept across Europe, and Picasso was devastated. In response, he began to work on a monumental painting, which would become Guernica. In less than six weeks, Picasso produced nearly fifty preparatory sketches, including at least twelve studies of horses. This is one of those studies. The sketches show Picasso’s creative process and experimentation.
Today, Guernica is one of Picasso’s most famous paintings. It has become a testament to the horrors of war and a symbol for the struggle against fascism.
To learn more about Guernica, you can watch the video behind you.