Guernica
Pablo Picasso
Oil on canvas (1937)
"What would be the best way today to protest against a war? How could you influence the largest number of people? In 1937, Picasso expressed his outrage against war with Guernica, his enormous mural-sized painting displayed to millions of visitors at the Paris World’s Fair. It has since become the twentieth century’s most powerful indictment against war, a painting that still feels intensely relevant today."
Antiwar icon
"Much of the painting’s emotional power comes from its overwhelming size, approximately eleven feet tall and twenty five feet wide. Guernica is not a painting you observe with spatial detachment; it feels like it wraps around you, immerses you in its larger-than-life figures and action. And although the size and multiple figures reference the long tradition of European history paintings, this painting is different because it challenges rather than accepts the notion of war as heroic." Continued... Picasso, Guernica
Maverick Mist 
I went to the link for more info on Guernica and I found this comment form Picasso about symbolism very interesting: “It isn’t up to the painter to define the symbols. Otherwise it would be better if he wrote them out in so many words.”
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That’s a really good quote David, thanks.
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Really a masterpiece. Thanks for sharing Maverick. Will read more about it. You are right about saying that a painting of this stature will surely wrap you around. It must be overwhelming to see this in person.
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Thanks Megha, it really is an impressive painting.
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He saw the suffering that war causes. No work of art can ever adequately portray that immense suffering, though his art was pure genius.
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So very true Tom, nothing could adequately portray the pain.
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Inspiring and thought provoking art! Thank you for posting his work, it’s a great reminder why we don’t need wars no more.
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I agree with you Indah, no more wars.
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It’s a wonderful painting that I was lucky to see in real life, and the size really does make it seem overwhelming, and you really see the pain in the figures.
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You’re right, it really is more impressive in person because of the size.
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This is an amazing piece of art. I stood in front of it for about an hour and was completely lost in it.
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It truly is.
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