1.6

ACTIVITY CONSIDERING CONTEXT

Look at the painting reproduced below and try to describe the images to someone who has not seen the painting. Do not look at the context of the artist and the situation depicted in the painting. After you finish your description, look at the backgroundinformation and re-describe the painting with that context in mind. Last, explain how knowing the context of the work affected your observation and what you tried to communicate.

image
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Guernica, 1937. Oil on canvas, 137.4 inches by 305.5 inches. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
Created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Spain by German and Italian forces during the Spanish Civil War, that resulted in nearly one thousand civilian deaths.
Bridgeman Images/(c) 2015 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York