“Zapatistas” by: Jose Clemente Orozco

It portrays a sombre portrait of four horsemen leading a number of men and women dressed in
traditional Mexican peasant garb to their doom. Orozco’s trademark palette, dominated by blacks
and earthy reds, underscores the violent nature of the theme and echoes the grim political
instability and armed conflict in the days of Emiliano Zapata Salazar, the leading figure in the
Mexican Revolution.  

The slain revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919) figures prominently in the work of
Mexican artists of the 1920s and 1930s. In this painting Orozco depicts a somber moment in the
Mexican Revolution,as Zapatistas -- Zapata's peasant followers -- march to their deaths. "I don't
trust revolutions or glorify them, as I witnessed too much butchery," Orozco later remarked,
referring to his experience in the Revolution. His trademark palatte, dominated by blacks and
earthy reds, underscores the violent nature of the subject matter and echoes the colors in the
political caricatures he made for revolutionary journals early in his career.
The Slave Ship by: Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 – 19 December 1851)

Description

The first impression that the painting creates is of an enormous deep-red sunset over a stormy
sea, an indication of an approaching typhoon. Upon closer inspection one can discern a ship
sailing off into the distance. The masts of the ship are red, matching the blood-red colour of the
sky and the sickly copper colour of the water, which serves to blur the lines between various
objects in the painting. The ship's sails are furled, revealing that it is preparing for the typhoon.
In the foreground can be seen a number of bodies floating in the water; their dark skin and
chained hands and feet indicate that they are slaves, thrown overboard from the ship. Looking
even more carefully, one can see fish and sea monsters swimming in the water, possibly
preparing to eat the slaves, and sea gulls circling overhead above the chaos.

Consistent with Turner's emphasis on colour in many of his other works, the painting's central
focus is on the interactions of various colours. Few defined brush strokes appear in the painting,
and objects, colours, and figures become indistinct. Rather, objects are defined by their colours
in the painting, and some objects (like the bodies of the slaves and the incoming storm) have no
real border at all, being solely defined by the contrast with the pigments around them. The most
prominent colours are the red of the sunset which encroaches into the water and ship as well, and
the maroon of the bodies and hands of the slaves.
Style and interpretation

Turner's emphasis on colour rather than design is typical of many Romantic works of the time.
The indistinct shapes and the pervasiveness of the sunset's blood-red colour serve to convey a
focus on nature and illustrate the idea that nature is superior to man. Other colours in the
painting, such as the cool blue of the ocean and the black caps of the water, bring the ocean's
hues to life and give the viewer a sense of the true emotions of the natural world. The fact that
the figures in the painting are depicted as minuscule and that even the ship is shunted to the
background in favour of the water and the sun further serve to decrease the emphasis on
humanity and transfer it to nature.

By placing the emphasis on nature rather than on figures or objects, Turner evokes the concept of
the "sublime", coined by Edmund Burke. The idea of the sublime is of the utter powerlessness
and terror of humanity in the face of nature; by dramatising the strength of the waves and sun,
Turner uses The Slave Ship to encapsulate, perfectly, Burke's definition of the term. Turner's
decision to paint the work with a series of quick, frenzied brush strokes rather than carefully
defined lines adds to the intensity of the painting, serving to make the viewer feel even more
overwhelmed. Though the painting's size is relatively small compared to many Romantic
landscape paintings, it still captivates the viewer in arguably a more powerful way.

Some viewers have argued that The Slave Ship actually represents Turner's reaction to the
Industrial Revolution. The painting might be viewed as an allegory against the exploitation of
slaves and other human labour in favour of machines and economic advancement, represented by
the coming storm engulfing the cruel captain. However, the storm could also be viewed as a
representation of nature's dominance over man and of the ultimate futility in trying to
industrialise and advance society.

Guernica, 1937 by Pablo Picasso

The painting was done with oil color on canvas. Aguirre classifies this painting as a cubist work,
it is quite seen the jagged shapes and harsh geometric lines that overlap with translucent layers
composing the whole painting. Picasso used monochromatic tones such as grays and blacks with
a mix of textural elements springing up the sense of chaos and agony the painting was based
upon (Aguirre, 2014). Aguirre recognizes in the painting; four women, a soldier, a horse, a baby,
a horse, a bull, a bird and other few objects, all combined and put in harmony expressing the
significant message of the work. Buildings around the objects are on flames depicting the
tragedy of what happened to the town Guernica after the bombing, this also might symbolize the
future of the Spanish Republic.

Review

done with oil color on canvas. Aguirre classifies this painting as a cubist work, it is quite seen the
jagged shapes and harsh geometric lines that overlap with translucent layers composing the
whole painting. Picasso used monochromatic tones such as grays and blacks with a mix of
textural elements springing up the sense of chaos and agony the painting was based upon
(Aguirre, 2014). Aguirre recognizes in the painting; four women, a soldier, a horse, a baby, a
horse, a bull, a bird and other few objects, all combined and put in harmony expressing the
significant message of the work. Buildings around the objects are on flames depicting the
tragedy of what happened to the town Guernica after the bombing, this also might symbolize the
future of the Spanish Republic.

In the painting there are seen four women in exaggerated positions expressing all the suffering of
the people of Guernica, they also illustrate the destruction of the Spanish Republic (Aguirre,
2014). The first woman is found on the far right of the work, arms upward with an expression of
terror on her face, depicting the panic and confusion of the town in the time of the bombing. The
woman has her head facing the sky, mouth open as if screaming; all these indicate the feeling of
pandemonium (Aguirre, 2014). During the event civilians were unaware of what was happening,
Aguirre affirms this woman to be a perfect image to capture the hysteria experienced of the town
at that exact moment (Aguirre, 2014). The woman with the enlarged foot, “grasping her knees in
anguish” next to the 1st woman represent those injured in the event. Aguirre writes: “This woman
appears to be dragging herself across the ground, her eyes fixated on the candlelight, a metaphor
for hope” (Aguirre, 2014,p. 3). The symbolism for Guernica being revealed to the world is given
by the woman emerging from the door holding a torch; Aguirre citing Rhodes, “She is shining
light to the committed atrocities” (Aguirre, 2014, p. 3). The woman on the ground carrying a
dead infant; an image Aguirre correlates to Michelangelo Buonarroti’s, Pieta. Pieta is a sculpture
of the Blessed Virgin, Mary and her dead son, Our Lord Jesus on her lap after the crucifixion.
Aguirre speaks of the predominance of Christianity in Spain, but the mother in the painting “goes
beyond biblical reference” (Aguirre, 2014p. 3). The mother in grief means the innocent lives
taken in the, this also includes the children who were killed as well (Aguirre, 2014)

A mutilated soldier is found on the ground. The soldier has a decapitated head and dismembered
arm reaching for a broken sword; this is the symbolism for the defeat of the Spanish Republic.
There is a stigmata found on the open palm of the soldier a resembling the wounds of Christ; a
homage to the fallen soldiers and rebels of the fight in the war for the freedom of others (Potter
as cited in Aguirre, 2014).
Animals in the painting play as much importance in the painting as the women and a soldier. The
bull is representation of the people of Spain treated as mere collateral damage in the Civil War.
Bullfighting is tradition for the Spanish, it is considered to be a blood sport, where the bull is a
sacrificial in the ring (Aguirre, 2014). The bull is seen to have a “panic-stricken face”, conveying
the fear felt by the people in the raid of the town. Aguirre also recognizes the bull as a “symbolic
representation of the collapse of Spain as a country” (Aguirre, 2014, p. 4). An impaled horse
with a big cut on its side is found in the near center of the painting. Picasso used newsprint on
the image, showing the means in how he had learned about the tragic bombing (Rey as cited in
Aguirre, 2014). The wounded horse is a picture of the “thousands of people who died and the
hundreds that were devastatingly hurt” (Aguirre, 2014, p. 4). The bird is barely seen in the
painting it fades into the dark gray, a symbolism for hope for the future. The bird holds an olive.
Also, the bird symbolically presents the long for prosperity, which the people seemed to find
unattainable in those dark times, a reason for the bird being barely seen Metaphorical optimism
for the Spanish is what was given by the inanimate objects in the painting. In the painting the
light bulb looks like an eye; it is interpreted to be the “evil eye” correlated to modern technology
and the devastation it can bring, like war. In contrast to the candlelight which is has natural light,
countering “the modern invention, almost as if expressing good versus evil, mirroring the real-
life fighting happening in the world” (Aguirre, 2014, p. 4). The flower held by the dead soldier is
a symbol of purity and harmony, the broken sword, combat and death. These two are contrasted
to each other showing the people yearning for peace in a tragic time of war. Further Aguirre
explains on the sword being a representation of battle and casualties on both sides in the art of
war. Picasso painted the sword broken intentionally to express the fall of the Republican side or
rather the Spanish people (Aguirre, 2014).

The overall interpretation of Guernica is found in the impact of the painting on the way humanity
perceives war. The whole painting exposes the horrific realities of war, thus the painting be
classified as a political master piece. The way production done by Picasso from the manipulation
of the dark monochromatic colors, the cubist style, the distorted figures expressing protest all
come to the concept that “war brings about destruction and death.”