Picasso's Guernica in a car showroom

[dipsydoodle]

Pablo Picasso's Guernica is one of the world's most celebrated works of art. The last time it was seen in the UK, it was not in an art gallery - but in an extraordinary exhibition in a car showroom in Manchester.

It is now revered as one of the masterpieces of modern art and is deemed so precious and fragile that a robot is currently spending six months scanning every fibre for damage.

But in 1939, the monumental Guernica was entrusted to a group of young artists and political activists who nailed it to the wall of the former showroom of a city Ford dealer.

Guernica was Picasso's searing attempt to convey the horrors of war after the bombing of the town of Guernica in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16927120

[Citizen Worker]

1. According to Spanish friends when Guernica was unveiled in Picasso's presence a Fascist was standing

next to him. The Fascist asked, "did you do this?" Picasso answered, "no, you did."

[dipsydoodle]

2. lol

That's a classic remark.

[ellisonz]

5. Zing.

[dipsydoodle]

4. For those not familiar with the background of this painting

Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Republican government commissioned Picasso to create a large mural for the Spanish display at the Paris International Exposition at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris.

Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. This work has gained a monumental status, becoming a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace. On completion Guernica was displayed around the world in a brief tour, becoming famous and widely acclaimed. This tour helped bring the Spanish Civil War to the world's attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_%28painting%29