Guernica (Picasso)

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/guernica-picasso

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the medium and palette?Oil on canvas, executed in monochrome (black, white, and gray)
2. What is the artistic influences?Cubism, Surrealism, and potentially the monochrome photography of Dora Maar
3. What is Guernica and why is it called a giant picture of sadness?Guernica is a huge black and white painting by Picasso that shows the pain and chaos of war. Its large size and dramatic images make it feel very sad and powerful.
4. Why did Picasso paint Guernica?Picasso was shocked by the bombing of the Spanish town Guernica in 1937. He wanted to show the suffering of civilians and warn people about the horrors of war.

Monochromatic Palette: An artistic choice to use only shades of a single color, often black and white.
Cubism: An early 20th-century art movement characterized by the fragmentation of objects into geometric forms.
Surrealism: An artistic and literary movement exploring the subconscious, dreams, and irrationality.
Spanish Civil War: A conflict in Spain from 1936 to 1939 between Republicans and Nationalists.