Guernika

I don't know anywhere near enough about art or writing to come up with anything appropriate to say about Picasso, really. (Except to go on about how huggable he was, but I've already done that.) I'll try to stick to the facts. It's the 25-year anniversary of the return of Guernica to Spain, and the museums are celebrating. As Picasso wanted, it was in New York at MOMA until Spain went back to being a free country. After Franco died, it got to come home. I like that story. Not the evil dictator part, but I like the idea of New York keeping it safe for a while, and I like that it's back in Spain now.

I had the Guernica story a little wrong. Picasso had been commissioned by the Spanish Republican government (the side that lost the civil war) to paint something for an upcoming world exposition. He had already started work on what would become Guernica when he found out about the bombing--it affected him and provided final inspiration and a title, but it wasn't exactly the case that the bombing happened and then he decided to do the painting. Which really shouldn't matter. I mean, there was a war going on and people were dying and it was terrible and he created this phenomenal piece of art espousing the horrors of war and it ended up being particularly influenced by one specific tragedy. What's the problem? There isn't one, besides the obvious, but, well, I dunno if it's my soft spot for the Basque country or how proud they are of their Peace Museum in Guernica or what, but I found myself a little disappointed--disappointed really isn't the right word, but I don't know what is--that the painting had just a little bit less to do with Guernica than I had originally thought. I know that's ridiculous, but....