Dresden From February thirteenth to the fifteenth nineteen forty five roughly 35,000-135,000 people died in the bombings of Dresden. The bombings killed more than the atom bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but were not as devastating as them combined. Looking back seventy years the main question people ask about the bombings is: was it overkill? The answer is yes. The nearest battle field was eighty miles from Dresden. During this time Dresden was a civilian city whose only war effort was making binoculars and gun sights. The city contained no anti-aircraft guns or even spotlights to see the approaching planes. Over the course of the three days, 800 British and 300 American aircraft dropped roughly 4,000 tons of bombs on the city, 1,400
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The painting was created within the context of the bombing of the city of the same name by the Germans during the Spanish Civil War. Although Picasso was not living in Spain at the time, he still felt tied to his homeland, and when commissioned by the Paris World Fair in 1937, he was able to produce the masterpiece we know as Guernica (K Shabi; Guernica Meaning: Analysis and Interpretation of Painting by Pablo Picasso). When first exhibited in Paris, it received little attention, but as it went on tour, it gave the Spanish Civil War international attention (Spanish-art.org). Picasso himself decided that the painting should not be brought to Spain, until “liberty and democracy” was established (PBS.org; Guernica Timeline). Like Dresden, Guernica was one of the many cities destroyed by aerial bombing by the allied and axis powers during World War II. However, the bombing of Guernica took place on April 26, 1937 and was carried out by the Germans, whereas the destruction of Dresden was carried out by American and British air forces in February of …show more content…
The dull colors and distorted figures and faces take the viewer out of reality, much like how the reader of Slaughterhouse-Five is taken out of reality and travels through time with Billy Pilgrim. The painting burns the depictions of the victims screaming of agony into the viewer’s mind, not so different than the horrific experiences of war Billy Pilgrim is left with. Because of the use of such unique and detailed images, the author believes the painting of Guernica is more impactful in communicating the anti-war message. Guernica gives war a face. In fact, it gives it many faces. While the form and depiction of these faces are not very realistic, they cry out to the viewer in a very real way, pleading for the destruction and violence to stop not just in Guernica, but in the world. If Mary O’Hare walked into the Museo Reina Sofía in Spain today, she would approve of its
The painting was created within the context of the bombing of the city of the same name by the Germans during the Spanish Civil War. Although Picasso was not living in Spain at the time, he still felt tied to his homeland, and when commissioned by the Paris World Fair in 1937, he was able to produce the masterpiece we know as Guernica (K Shabi; Guernica Meaning: Analysis and Interpretation of Painting by Pablo Picasso). When first exhibited in Paris, it received little attention, but as it went on tour, it gave the Spanish Civil War international attention (Spanish-art.org). Picasso himself decided that the painting should not be brought to Spain, until “liberty and democracy” was established (PBS.org; Guernica Timeline). Like Dresden, Guernica was one of the many cities destroyed by aerial bombing by the allied and axis powers during World War II. However, the bombing of Guernica took place on April 26, 1937 and was carried out by the Germans, whereas the destruction of Dresden was carried out by American and British air forces in February of …show more content…
The dull colors and distorted figures and faces take the viewer out of reality, much like how the reader of Slaughterhouse-Five is taken out of reality and travels through time with Billy Pilgrim. The painting burns the depictions of the victims screaming of agony into the viewer’s mind, not so different than the horrific experiences of war Billy Pilgrim is left with. Because of the use of such unique and detailed images, the author believes the painting of Guernica is more impactful in communicating the anti-war message. Guernica gives war a face. In fact, it gives it many faces. While the form and depiction of these faces are not very realistic, they cry out to the viewer in a very real way, pleading for the destruction and violence to stop not just in Guernica, but in the world. If Mary O’Hare walked into the Museo Reina Sofía in Spain today, she would approve of its