Modern art has always been the object of careful attention and lively discussions. Among the examples belonging to modern art, so many works are the sources of a great number of critical works. Guernica by Picasso is one of the brightest examples. You can find many critical works devoted to the picture and that of Gijs Van Hensbergen is the most famous one. In its book, the author tries to show his attitude to the representatives of modern art and this work in particular.
Guernica is a depiction of the airborne devastation of a Basque city by the fascists in the period of the Spanish Civil war. For a long time, Guernica was hidden from the public and viewers. According to the words of the officials, this work was too confusing for television and other mass media, and it might have a negative effect on public opinion. But, as we know, everything that is forbidden and hidden from the eyes of the publicity seems to be more interesting. As a result, the attempts to put out Guernica of the sight have led to an invigorated interest and increased attention to this painting. Later, the images of this painting appeared practically everywhere, on the cities walls and even on the clothes. Of course, this painting has both admirers and opponents. Guernica by Gijs Van Hensbergen recounts the prevailing story of Picasso’s masterwork, a picture that is the symbol of peace and respect despite the fact that it is the evidence of the violence of the war.
At first sight, this painting is very difficult to understand, as it is performed in a manner peculiar to Picasso, but after some considerations, one can see that Picasso put some special sense in his work:
Art is ‘often hard to understand at first but, as our minds and muscles, our artistic sensibilities are strengthened by exercise and hard work. I have never thought of art as something primarily pleasant.’ Guernica was a difficult painting, but it was also the paradigm of the modern (Hensbergen, p. 119).
The words of the author are very truthful, to my mind. Sometimes, it is very difficult to understand art. Everyone has his own attitude to some representatives of the art. But our minds and imagination need to be developed like our bodies with the help of training and hard work. In order to be more conscious and esthetically developed, people should enlarge their scope. Nowadays we are concerned about problems that seem more important than art. As a result, art seems so difficult and incomprehensible. Telling that Guernica is a paradigm of the modern, the author tries to show that this picture is the so-called symbol of modern times. It depicts war and violence that can be called current problems of modernity. To my mind, this picture is difficult to understand at first, if you are not aware of the main theme and aim of the artist. Only after drawing a parallel with modern events, it is possible to say that Guernica reflects the problems of the modern world.
Among the amateurs of modern art, it is very difficult to find people with the same opinions on its works. Everybody has his own point of view because art is hard to understand categorically. The realization of art requires hard work and self-improvement.
References
Hensbergen, Gijs Van. Guernica: The Biography of a Twentieth-Century Icon. USA: Bloomsbury, 2004.