In January 1937, Picasso was asked by Republican Spain to produce a painting for the Paris World Exposition. It would be his first commissioned work and—somewhat unusually for him at the time—would be overtly political. Picasso’s role as a representative of his native Spain was meant to bring the world’s attention to the coming danger of fascism—the country’s future hung in the balance as General Francisco Franco and his fascist army threatened to defeat the Spanish Republic and take over the country. Nonetheless, with weeks left before he was to deliver, Picasso remained without inspiration. That changed on April 27.For three hours the town of Gernika—as it is known to its native Basque population—was destroyed by dozens of German and Italian bombers on loan to Franco. More than 1,500 civilians were killed in a savage act of war unparalleled in European history.What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who has only his eyes if he's a painter, or ears if he's a musician, or a lyre at every level of his heart if he's a poet, or even, if he's a boxer, just his muscles? On the contrary, he's at the same time a political being, constantly alive to heartrending, fiery, or happy events, to which he responds in every way. How would it be possible to feel no interest in other people and by virtue of an ivory indifference to detach yourself from the life which they copiously bring you? No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war for attack and defense against the enemy.Picasso's mural is now also inescapably linked to the US-led war in Iraq. In February 2003, Colin Powel spoke about going to war in Iraq at the United Nations Security Council. There was a press conference scheduled afterwards. A tapestry reproduction of Guernica located outside the entrance of the Council Room was covered with a blue curtain. UN officials claimed the mural was a distracting background for the TV cameras covering the press conference. Its unappealing ménage of mutilated bodies and distorted faces proved to be too strong for articulating to the world why the US was going to war in Iraq. Guernica became an inconvenient masterpiece.
