The Genesis of a Painting: Picasso's Guernica

by Rudolf Arnheim

Rudolf Arnheim explores the creative process through the sketches executed by Picasso for his mural Guernica. The drawings and paintings shown herein, as well as the photographs of the stages of the final painting, represent the complete visual record of the creative stages of a major work of art.

Genres: Art

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Rudolf Arnheim (1904–2007) was a German-born author, art and film theorist, and perceptual psychologist. He learned Gestalt psychology from studying under Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Köhler at the University of Berlin and applied it to art. His magnum opus was his book Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye (1954). Other major books by Arnheim have included Visual Thinking (1969), and The Power of the Center: A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts (1982). Art and Visual Perception was revised, enlarged and published as a new version in 1974, and it has been translated into fourteen languages. He lived in Germany, Italy, England, and America. Most notably, Arnheim taught at Sarah Lawrence College, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan. He has greatly influenced art history and psychology in America.

Reviews

[Miloš Dikić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genije (Arnhajm) proučava kreativni proces nastanka najvećeg likovnog dela dvadesetog veka, i pokušava da uđe u svest drugog genija (Pikasa). Ne znam ko me je od njih dvojice na kraju više oduševio.

[Sofia Fresia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il testo presenta una documentazione completa e dettagliata sulle tappe che hanno portato Picasso alla realizzazione di Guernica. Il continuo variare delle idee, le fluttuazioni e i ripetuti tentativi di risolvere questo o quel dettaglio accrescono agli occhi di chi li riconosce il valore e la forza dell’opera ultimata. Il testo è arricchito di immagini in bianco e nero di tutto il materiale preparatorio a Guernica, e l’autore si sofferma a lungo su ogni singolo passaggio; questo va bene ai fini di uno studio universitario ma rende la lettura nel complesso poco scorrevole e coinvolgente.

[Isidora · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book introduced me to psychology of art and from there went on to define my future in many ways.

being the first book on perception/theory/psychology/history of art i’ve ever read, it’s shaped not only the way i look at artworks but also the way i think about them. it’s hard not to consider Picasso’s Guernica one of the most important, powerful and mesmerising masterpieces in human history after reading what Arnheim had to say on it.

[kingspalaces · Rating 4 out of 5]

El mejor cuadro de la historia

[Roxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picasso's Guernica has strengthened my already pretty obsessive interest in 20th century art and the science/psychology of creativity...because that is what it was about! It was required reading for my "The Science of Creativity; The Creativity of Science" course which encompasses everything from empirical research writing to creative writing to neuroscience to psychology to...art history! Best class ever. Anyway, this book was the perfect representation of the course. Picasso granted Arnheim with every single sketch he did before finishing his incredible Guernica painting (it is definitely one of my favorite paintings now, and I respect Picasso even more too) and analyzed each sketch...how the painting evolved...how the science and process and mentality of creativity evidenced itself through each tiny change. It was fascinating to see the different stages of Guernica and gain a very deep understanding of the painting, which is pretty perplexing at first glance. Definitely up there with my favorite books.

[Tooba]

Arnheim spoke to my class in college about the work that he had been doing for this book. Amazing lecture....