Guernica: Why is this painting so shocking?

Discover the history and symbolism of Pablo Picasso’s powerful anti-war mural, Guernica, rendered in his signature Cubist style.

In 1937, in one of the worst civilian casualties of the Spanish Civil War, Fascist forces bombed the village of Guernica in Northern Spain. For Pablo Picasso, the tragedy sparked a frenzied period of work in which he produced a massive anti-war mural, titled “Guernica.” How can we make sense of this overwhelming image, and what makes it a masterpiece of anti-war art? Iseult Gillespie investigates.