Picasso's 'Guernica' is a considerable painting by any measure: its scale, the importance of its subject matter, and the depth and complexity of its symbolism. In this video I present another of my personal interpretations of a great artwork.
While many elements of the painting are relatively clear, I believe there is a lot of other symbolism hidden within the work. I share with you the results of many years of studying the tangle of overlapping component images, showing how they can be reframed to form ghosts, birds and a number of skulls.
I also address the question of why Picasso decided to use so much hidden imagery within 'Guernica'.
But do you agree with my interpretation? And the reason for Picasso's choices? I'd love to see your views posted in the Comments section. And please don't forget to Like and Subscribe!
The original of 'Guernica' can be found here: www.museoreina...
And finally here are some additional notes that didn't make it into the video:
1. the Lambs Skull on the left could belong to to the idea of a slaughtered lamb running right across the painting where the woman's legs walking in on the right are also the legs of the lamb. This explains why the woman's legs looks like a leg of mutton rather than human. All this is illustrated with a red line in the final image presented at the end of the video.
2. the Ghost holding the naturally lit candle holds it up to expose the mechanical behaviour symbolized by the electric light bulb at the top of the hidden Nazi's skull.
3. The dead baby's head on the left is also the nose of the lamb.