DISCUSSION FORUM UNIT 7

Review the information on Picasso’s mural Guernica, painted in 1937.

1. Would you classify Guernica as Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, or Surrealism? \

2. Explain your answer by using specific visual and stylistic references.

Guernica was created by Picasso because of the bombing of Guernica. However, in his paintings,
Picasso mixed in a lot of symbolism as well (The Art Story, n.d.). To classify Guernica in any of
the art styles mentioned, I need to first analyze these styles.

Beginning with Dada, or Dadaism. The Dada art movement was formed during the first World
War in Zurich, Germany. It was formed as a negative reaction to the horrors of the war, with the
aim of helping to stop the war while at the same time challenging the social norms of society
through art that would shock, confuse, or outrage people. Dadaism mainly thrived on
counterattacking every aspect of society that was conventional (The Art Story, n.d.). Dadaism art
is mainly characterized by the humor displayed in the paintings, the artistic freedom, the
emotional reactions, irrationalism, and spontaneity. It uses those to expose accepted and pressive
conventions in society.

The Art Story also refers to Cubism as the style of painting whereby the painting is
comprehended from the viewer’s perspective. Cubism mainly looked at having multiple
perspectives and relied on the use of geometric shapes, flat picture planes, and a color palette in
its paintings (The Art Story, n.d.). This novel handling of form, color, and multiple perspectives
by artists in their paintings signaled a shift from the common European conventions.

For Surrealism, it aimed to revolutionize human experience. It is referred to as a state that shows
an art and literature movement in which artists used the unconscious mind and dreams while not
paying attention to logical thought and a rational vision of life (The Art Story, n.d.). Surrealism
was characterized by dreamlike artwork, automatism techniques to help create random effects in
paintings, distorted figures, spontaneity, strange images, and perverse sexuality.
And then for the Expressionism style of art, it is referred to as the art where art is made to show
not the objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that the objects and
events arouse within the viewer. Expressionism paintings were characterized by distorted views
of the images in the paintings, exaggeration, fantasy, garish colors, and primitivism (The Art
Story, n.d.).

Therefore, with the characteristics of the different art styles given, and looking at Picasso’s
Guernica, it’s difficult to classify it with one style of art. This is because, looking at it, one can
observe that it combines characteristics from many art movements, like the multiple perspectives
of the Cubism movement. This is because there are so many visuals to process. The closer one
gets to it, the more it engulfs one in the horrors of war. Is it about the human elements where a
mother is wailing for her dead child, is it reflecting something in a burning furnace, and many
other perspectives as one may perceive? It also shows dreamlike elements from Surrealism,
where dismembered bodies like that of a warrior fill the painting (The Art Story, n.d.).

Much as there are a number of art movements used in Guernica, it’s the Surrealist images that
create the acts of suffering and war that mostly fill the Guernica.

Word Count: 522

REFERENCE
The Art Story, (n.d.). Movements: DADA. Retrieved from
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/dada/

The Art Story, (n.d.). Movements: CUBISM. Retrieved from

https://www.theartstory.org/movement/cubism/

The Art Story, (n.d.). Movements: SURREALISM. Retrieved from

https://www.theartstory.org/movement/surrealism/
The Art Story, (n.d.). Movements: EXPRESSIONISM. Retrieved from
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/expressionism/