Alk War in Art When

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War in Art

When discussing war as an abstract concept, most individuals would agree that it is a deplorable, tragic phenomenon, even if it accomplishes a desired end. However, when considering specific, real-world wars, this unity breaks down, because ideology and nationalism frequently overpower individuals' otherwise rational consideration of war as a definitionally deplorable phenomenon. This is true in art as in anywhere else, and by comparing Pablo Picasso's condemnation of the violence, brutality, and inhumanity of war in his 1937 painting Guernica with Eugene Delacroix's triumphant Liberty Leading the People, one is able to better understand how the forces of ideology and nationalism are able to overpower human beings' otherwise common opposition to violence and conflict, to the point that war and death become a source of national pride and individual honor, so long as they are perpetrated in the name of popular demand.

To begin, it will be useful to provide some brief historical context to either painting. Picasso's Guernica was painted in response to the 1937 aerial bombing of a small village of the same name, during which over a thousand civilians died.

The village was a major center of the resistance during the Spanish Civil War, and the attack represented the first bombing of a civilian population, something that would become standardized just a few years later as World War II enveloped the globe.

Similar to Guernica, which was painted the same year as the event it referenced, Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People was painted in 1830 to commemorate the July Revolution of the same year, which put an end to the Bourbon Restoration which had occurred following the first French Revolution.

Although both paintings were relatively immediate responses to these military conflicts, they could not be more different in style, tone, or argument.

However, before discussing how the paintings differ, it will be productive to highlight one further similarity, if only because this sharpens the contrast between the two paintings. Put simply, the bottoms of both paintings are littered with corpses. Although Picasso and Delacroix have obvious stylistic differences, in terms of visual content and composition the two paintings are strikingly similar, to the point that the bottom left of both images consists of a corpse splayed out on its back, mouth open and staring up with lifeless eyes. The bodies and limbs in Guernica become more entangled and less distinct as the eye moves to the right, but for the most part both paintings make a point of littering the ground, and thus the literal and metaphorical basis of the entire image, with dead bodies. Indeed, in both images the eye is almost immediately drawn to these bodies on the ground, even if either artist uses a different method to achieve the effect. With Guernica the eye is drawn to the splayed corpse because the pained expression on its face is the most easily recognizable object in the entire image, and thus takes less time and cognitive effort to focus on. With Liberty Leading the People, Delacroix is able to draw the viewer's eye to the corpses due his particular use of light, which, although focused on the figure of Liberty, nevertheless illuminates the torso and naked groin of the corpse to the lower-left, such that one must necessarily examine it even if Liberty is the first thing the eye tries to focus on.

However, this compositional similarity does not extend to theme or meaning, because Picasso and Delacroix do nearly opposite things with this floor of corpses. In Guernica, the viewer is forced to identify with the bodies littering the ground, or else the figures cowering in fear or agony, because the rest of the image is taken up with terrible animals, including (from left to right) a bull, a horse, and what looks like a dragon devouring someone alive. The image is a clear denunciation of the horrors of war, because Picasso uses these terrifying creatures to signify the savagery and brutality visited upon the people of Guernica. The twisted, agonizing bodies trod over by horrific animals are meant to represent the true human cost of war, and force the viewer to confront directly the terrifying reality of war.

To say that Delacroix takes precisely the opposite approach is not an exaggeration, because where Picasso focuses on the broken bodies of those trampled by the savage animals of war, Delacroix presents an inversion of this perspective, wherein the savage, horrifying animals are replaced by triumphant revolutionaries, following Liberty as she leads them heroically over the pile of corpses. The viewer is not directed to mourn the bodies that cover the ground, but rather celebrate alongside the victors, who charge forward carrying guns and swords. Instead, the piled corpses are merely a means to an end, a soft topping to the pile of rubble that is apparently necessary to secure Liberty and allow her to take charge.

The contrast in theme is particularly strong because the style of either artist does not immediately feel conducive to their apparent goal, but upon closer examination . While Delacroix is decidedly more "realistic" than Picasso, the realism of his corpses does not direct the viewer to sympathize with them, but merely adds some sense of gravity to central image of a glowing Liberty directing "the people" onward with a rifle and French flag. Thus, while one might imagine Delacroix's "realism" would instill some sort of thematic or ideological realism into the painting, it actually does the opposite. Similarly, one might initially imagine that Picasso's abstraction and skewed perspective would not be ideal to represent the brutal reality of the bombing of Guernica, but in fact, the horror of the event actually becomes more tangible through the impossibly twisted faces, awkwardly jutting limbs, and misshapen heads of his corpses.

Both paintings deal with the aftermath of a revolutionary movement, but interpret that aftermath in decidedly different ways. The bombing of Guernica was ultimately the result of a Fascist coup against the Spanish government, while the July Revolution was a revolt against the ruling Bourbon monarchy. While the French revolutionaries and the Spanish Fascists have quite reasonably been viewed with dramatically different levels of condemnation or celebration, the contrast between the two paintings is interesting because it forces one to consider how society legitimizes violence committed by popular demand while condemning violence committed by groups or individuals viewed as illegitimate or otherwise unpopular. Liberty Leading the People is a nationalistic, ostensibly democratic painting which celebrates the violence committed in the name of liberty, and the fact that the painting essentially celebrates this violence should be problematic for anyone who can understand the decidedly anti-war position of Guernica.