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Guernica: The Biography of a Twentieth-Century Icon
Guernica relates the powerful story of Picasso's 1937 masterpiece, a painting that from its birth out of war and violence became known worldwide as a symbolic cry for peace. The acclaimed biographer of Gaudí traces the iconic painting's beginnings amid the Spanish Civil War through its use as a weapon in the propaganda battle against Fascism, through the years when it became the nucleus of the Museum of Modern Art's creation in New York, to its role as a symbol of reconciliation when it returned to Spain after the death of Franco, as democracy was reestablished.
384 pages, Paperback
First published October 18, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 25, 2024
Periplul Guernicai până la instalarea sa în Muzeul Regina Sofia din Madrid. Nu aș fi crezut ca această operă de artă ar fi avut atât de multe implicații politice.
O pictură-manifest extrem de fascinantă și cunoscându-i povestea, devine chiar mai fascinantă.
O pictură-manifest extrem de fascinantă și cunoscându-i povestea, devine chiar mai fascinantă.
December 30, 2023
Excellently weaving together of the biographical and political histories of Guernica itself, Picasso and Spain in general
April 1, 2019
The text is more about the painting’s impact than Picasso’s symbolic and personal mythology as characterized with the work. Yet, it was fascinating to discover how the painting ended up at MOMA for so long and how it eventually made it to its resting place at the Reina Sofia.
Sad to think that Picasso never set foot back into Spain after the painting was put on view in 1937. He pined for his homeland, but rebuffed all invitations as he knew he would never be allowed to leave given Franco’s despicable regime.
Picasso’s description of the Spaniard’s love to see running blood is very insightful. It explains much of their culture from the Inquisition to bull fighting, to the exploitation of the Americas, the unification and the eventual bloodbath of the civil war.
How Picasso survived the war in Paris is a mystery. Some of that time is portrayed here. Descriptions of Guernica’s role with American abstractionists seems a bit far fetched, but the most influential work of the 20th century is hard to ignore.
Read this book before visiting the masterpiece. The Reina Sofia does a phenomenal job of showcasing its role during its development and immediate aftermath. Their website has an X-ray of the monumental work revealing Guernica’s incarnation. Read the book in tandem.
Sad to think that Picasso never set foot back into Spain after the painting was put on view in 1937. He pined for his homeland, but rebuffed all invitations as he knew he would never be allowed to leave given Franco’s despicable regime.
Picasso’s description of the Spaniard’s love to see running blood is very insightful. It explains much of their culture from the Inquisition to bull fighting, to the exploitation of the Americas, the unification and the eventual bloodbath of the civil war.
How Picasso survived the war in Paris is a mystery. Some of that time is portrayed here. Descriptions of Guernica’s role with American abstractionists seems a bit far fetched, but the most influential work of the 20th century is hard to ignore.
Read this book before visiting the masterpiece. The Reina Sofia does a phenomenal job of showcasing its role during its development and immediate aftermath. Their website has an X-ray of the monumental work revealing Guernica’s incarnation. Read the book in tandem.
December 31, 2020
Un libro fantástico que cuenta toda la historia del Guernica desde la exposición universal de París de 1937 hasta su llegada al Reina Sofía en 1992. Uniéndola con la historia de su autor y la de España.
February 14, 2026
Todo un libro dedicado a contar la historia completa del Guernica; Los hechos históricos que llevaron a que Picasso creara el mural, el proceso de creación del mural, su paso por la Exposición Internacional de 1937 (exposición para la cual Guernica fue creado), el exilio del mural en Nueva York, y, finalmente, su complejo y tumultuoso traslado a España que comenzó desde finales de los 60's y concluyó a finales del año 1981 (tras la muerte de Franco y el retorno de la democracia), para desembocar con su reubicación definitiva en el museo Reina Sofia en 1992. Es decir, hablamos de una historia que abarca medio siglo.
Gijs Van Hensbergen maneja una excelente prosa, bastante saturada de nombres y nombres de personajes que de alguna u otra manera se relacionan con Guernica, así como de datos y datos de todo tipo, pero que al mismo tiempo es muy fácil de leer. El libro consta de al rededor de 400 páginas si omitimos el resto de páginas reservadas para la bibliografía y notas al pie de página, pero el tamaño tan pequeño de la tipografía de la edición que compré, genera que, de hacer una conversión de la tipografía a un tamaño estándar, fácil resulte en el doble de páginas, es decir, casi 800. De todas formas, para nada es queja, sólo se me hizo curioso.
Más bien lo comento porque Guernica resultó ser un libro sorprendentemente entretenido, o al menos así lo fue para mí, que esperaba un contenido muy denso, o temía que fuera reiterativo, lo que agilizó bastante la lectura. Hubo momentos en los que se me iba la cuenta del tiempo y de pronto ya había recorrido más páginas de las que tenía contempladas. Mis partes favoritas fueron el proceso de creación de Guernica y su traslado a España. Las partes negativas fueron aquellas donde se aborda el trato de Picasso hacia sus parejas, así como determinados planteamientos por parte del autor con respecto a una clara postura anti comunista.
Igual tampoco es que Hensbergen llegue al grado de hacer apología al Franquismo, ni mucho menos. Además de que según recuerdo también llega a reconocer algunas proezas de la izquierda. En todo caso, la ideología del autor se establecería en la socialdemócrata, aunque sabemos que dicha ideología ultimadamente conduce a la derecha a través de caminos que, a veces puede que se estiren y se vuelvan enmarañados al grado de que la derecha parezca un destino lejano e inclusive imperceptible para algunos desde la distancia inicial, pero cuyo destino final sigue siendo ése, la derecha.
Gijs Van Hensbergen maneja una excelente prosa, bastante saturada de nombres y nombres de personajes que de alguna u otra manera se relacionan con Guernica, así como de datos y datos de todo tipo, pero que al mismo tiempo es muy fácil de leer. El libro consta de al rededor de 400 páginas si omitimos el resto de páginas reservadas para la bibliografía y notas al pie de página, pero el tamaño tan pequeño de la tipografía de la edición que compré, genera que, de hacer una conversión de la tipografía a un tamaño estándar, fácil resulte en el doble de páginas, es decir, casi 800. De todas formas, para nada es queja, sólo se me hizo curioso.
Más bien lo comento porque Guernica resultó ser un libro sorprendentemente entretenido, o al menos así lo fue para mí, que esperaba un contenido muy denso, o temía que fuera reiterativo, lo que agilizó bastante la lectura. Hubo momentos en los que se me iba la cuenta del tiempo y de pronto ya había recorrido más páginas de las que tenía contempladas. Mis partes favoritas fueron el proceso de creación de Guernica y su traslado a España. Las partes negativas fueron aquellas donde se aborda el trato de Picasso hacia sus parejas, así como determinados planteamientos por parte del autor con respecto a una clara postura anti comunista.
Igual tampoco es que Hensbergen llegue al grado de hacer apología al Franquismo, ni mucho menos. Además de que según recuerdo también llega a reconocer algunas proezas de la izquierda. En todo caso, la ideología del autor se establecería en la socialdemócrata, aunque sabemos que dicha ideología ultimadamente conduce a la derecha a través de caminos que, a veces puede que se estiren y se vuelvan enmarañados al grado de que la derecha parezca un destino lejano e inclusive imperceptible para algunos desde la distancia inicial, pero cuyo destino final sigue siendo ése, la derecha.
March 22, 2024
Sometimes over-detailed (for me) but otherwise a generally excellent book of the story of Picasso’s painting ‘Guernica’ from its conception in 1937 to its placement in a permanent home in Madrid in the 1980s. There is, of course, a lot of coverage both of Picasso’s life up to his death in 1973 and of the history of Spain from the civil war to the 1990s. An ambitious book - well worth reading.
December 20, 2022
spanish civil war and art history two of my favorite things
May 4, 2025
the writing was slightly clunky but it has to be a 5 both for concept and execution... truly engrossing and fascinating
October 23, 2025
The more things change, the more the stay the same. Picasso was a genius but with a price tag attached. Those were difficult times.
August 12, 2011
The life of Picasso's Guernica has been documented well by Gijs van Hensbergen in this considered yet occasionally flawed biography. The first half of the book is a lively and educating exploration of Picasso and his relationship with the Republic. Making sense of the place of Picasso, the war and the painting in the wider world of modern art takes us to New York and explores the relationship between Picasso and later masters such as Pollock. Even if you are not fully aware of all the paintings involved, van Hensbergen does a fair job of keeping the relatively uninformed reader in the loop.
Moving toward the end of the journey the book seems to lose it's direction and clarity. Where before concepts, artists and paintings were introduced in an understandable framework the author later seems to drop names and flit back and forth without concern for cohesion. Although we can appreciate the importance of following the life of Picasso to understand where Guernica moves the detail is sometimes tedious and seemingly irrelevant. Too much emphasis is placed on the bureacratic and moral wrangling of the art diplomacy to return Guernica and too little to how it has fared back in native Spain. A discussion of how it fits as an icon - including the infamous UN incident - would have been a more appropriate discussion to fill this space given over to bizarre Picasso family feuding.
In conclusion, a good book that is only let down by the poor structuring toward the end. If you have an interest in Guernica and wish to understand how and why it is elevated to the status it is, this book can go a long way in educating you. Take it with a copy of Russell Martin - Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica, and the Masterpiece That Changed the World. Be aware also that Gijs van Hensbergen gives little airtime to exploring the meanings of the painting - this is not a theory book, more an account of the object and it's relationship to the owner and owners of it.
Moving toward the end of the journey the book seems to lose it's direction and clarity. Where before concepts, artists and paintings were introduced in an understandable framework the author later seems to drop names and flit back and forth without concern for cohesion. Although we can appreciate the importance of following the life of Picasso to understand where Guernica moves the detail is sometimes tedious and seemingly irrelevant. Too much emphasis is placed on the bureacratic and moral wrangling of the art diplomacy to return Guernica and too little to how it has fared back in native Spain. A discussion of how it fits as an icon - including the infamous UN incident - would have been a more appropriate discussion to fill this space given over to bizarre Picasso family feuding.
In conclusion, a good book that is only let down by the poor structuring toward the end. If you have an interest in Guernica and wish to understand how and why it is elevated to the status it is, this book can go a long way in educating you. Take it with a copy of Russell Martin - Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica, and the Masterpiece That Changed the World. Be aware also that Gijs van Hensbergen gives little airtime to exploring the meanings of the painting - this is not a theory book, more an account of the object and it's relationship to the owner and owners of it.
May 16, 2012
One of the most powerful paintings of the twentieth century and its creator presented with fascinating historical, political and biographical context. Beginning with the tragic events in Spain leading up to to the second world war, van Hensbergen provides a engaging account of culture and art during and after the war in Europe and America as Guernica, the painting, travels from France across the ocean and finally back home to Spain. Though at times the author goes a bit over the top with his admiration for the art world, for someone unfamiliar with the battles artists encountered in their attempts to bridge the gap between mere aesthetics and political statement, this book provides an excellent primer.
June 24, 2010
I put this book on my reading list after my son enthused about seeing Picasso's mural, Guernica, on his trip to Spain. But this art-historical biography of the painting is not really my cup of tea, and it was probably foolish of me to think it would be.
March 9, 2007
He pushes a little too hard in this book, but the section on the Spanish Civil War is fascinating.
September 21, 2007
Informative, if limited.
February 25, 2009
Kinda boring. Picasso was a jerk.
January 7, 2022
Excellent book on the horror of Guernica and Picasso’s painting
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews