What does the Spanish word Guernica mean?
(ɡɜːˈniːkə , ˈɡɜːnɪkə , Spanish ɡɛrˈnika) noun. a town in N Spain: formerly the seat of a Basque parliament; destroyed in 1937 by German bombers during the Spanish Civil War, an event depicted in one of Picasso’s most famous paintings.
What is the Basque name for Guernica?
Spain. Pamplona. 20 km. 20 miles. Before Hiroshima or Dresden, and long before Mosul or Aleppo, there was Guernica (the official and Basque name is Gernika).
Why was Guernica a special city for the Basques?
It is the spiritual home of the Basques, the seat of the ancient Basque parliament and the site of the sacred Tree of Guernica (actually a dynasty of oaks, stretching back to the Middle Ages), under which the first parliaments were held. Both parliament building and tree were missed by the bombs.
How did Guernica get its name?
Pablo Picasso: The 1930s … course, was the mural painting Guernica (named for the Basque town bombed in 1937 by the Fascists),……
What are the symbols in Guernica?
The 7 Hidden Symbols in Picasso’s Guernica
- The sun is a technologically advanced eye.
- The mother cradling her dead child symbolizes Christian imagery.
- Picasso’s black and white color scheme is a homage to newspapers.
- The bull signifies fascism.
- The terrified horse is the Guernican people.
- The horse hides the image of a skull.
Is Guernica worth a visit?
It lacks the stunning scenery and Belle Époque architecture of San Sebastian, and thriving art scene and lively nightlife of Bilbao. But it’s worth a day, or at minimum, an afternoon of your time in Basque country to get a better sense of the traditions and history behind modern-day Basque culture, and politics.
Did Spain get bombed in ww2?
One such attack occurred in June 1943, when a bomb caused a fire and explosions in the dockyard. The British were generally more successful after this and managed to use turned agents and sympathetic anti-Fascist Spaniards to uncover subsequent attacks. A total of 43 sabotage attempts were prevented in this way.
What does Picasso spell?
[ pi-kah-soh, -kas-oh; Spanish pee-kah-saw ] SHOW IPA. / pɪˈkɑ soʊ, -ˈkæs oʊ; Spanish piˈkɑ sɔ / PHONETIC RESPELLING. noun. Pa·blo [pah-bloh; Spanish pah-blaw], /ˈpɑ bloʊ; Spanish ˈpɑ βlɔ/, 1881–1973, Spanish painter and sculptor in France.
What does the woman symbolize in Guernica?
There are, of course, many ways of interpreting the figures and symbols in the painting. At the far left is a woman with her dead child in her arms; many experts see in them the figure of the Pietà, the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of her son, a symbol of a Mother’s love and suffering.
What is the meaning of the painting Guernica?
[gwair-ni-kuh; Spanish ger-nee-kah] noun. Basque town in northern Spain: bombed and destroyed in 1937 by German planes helping the insurgents in the Spanish Civil War. (italics) a painting (1937) by Pablo Picasso.
When was Guernica destroyed in the Spanish Civil War?
a town in N Spain: formerly the seat of a Basque parliament; destroyed in 1937 by German bombers during the Spanish Civil War, an event depicted in one of Picasso’s most famous paintings. Pop: 15 454 (2003 est)
How did Guernica become a symbol of genocide?
Since then, this monumental black-and-white canvas has become an international symbol of genocide committed during wartime. Like another major work of Spanish paintingentitled The Third of May 1808by Goya, Guernicais a pictorial condemnation of a cold-blooded, faceless massacre of innocent people.
When did Picasso take the Guernica to Spain?
Following the death of Franco in 1975 and years of negotiations between Spain, the United States, MoMA, and several of Picasso’s heirs, Guernica finally went to Spain in 1981, where it was housed in the Casón del Buen Retiro, an annex of the Prado Museum in Madrid.