Sweeping the entire artistic world at the time of its development, the Modernist movement in art has affected the aesthetics of people across the globe, leading to the reconsideration of how form and function were related to each other. Moreover, with the increase in the role of multiculturalism, a range of different interpretations of the Modernist ideas emerged, leading to the creation of subdivisions within the movement. Cubism represents one of these subgenres, taking the concept of Modernism to a new level and creating an illusion of the third dimension in a painting (Albright 299). The introduction of Cubism into the Modernist movement can be seen as the response to the spontaneity of Impressionism.
Picasso’s Guernica should be viewed as an important artwork featuring the key ideas of Cubism, which is why it is worth remembering as a crucial landmark of the Cubist movement. Although it has a plethora of unique distinctions, its massive size is the first characteristic that catches the eye of a viewer. Afterward, it thrills with its rough and graphic nature, portraying the war and suffering in a very realistic and unfiltered manner. The decision to prioritize a monochrome image over a colorful painting could be seen as the aspect of the painting that would tone down the harsh depiction of the wartime reality, yet it only adds rawness and roughness to the image (Albright 301). Locking the picture in a perpetual portrayal of dread, the angular, seemingly disjointed elements of the painting imbue the simplistic geometric shapes with additional meaning, allowing the viewer’s imagination to fill the gaps and restore the uninhibited, unmasked horror that is war. “Guernica” shocks the viewer with its raw emotion created with the help of simple geometric shapes, thus creating the ultimate representation of Cubism.
Work Cited
Albright, Daniel. Putting Modernism Together: Literature, Music, and Painting, 1872–1927. JHU Press, 2015.