From Publishers Weekly
Picasso watched closely from his adopted Paris as the Spanish Civil War unfolded, and when German bombers leveled the Basque village of Guernica, the previously apolitical Picasso felt stirred to action. Created at a frenzied pace, his painting Guernica was both homage to his Catalonian homeland and a scathing indictment of bloodshed. While Martin (Beethoven's Hair) meticulously describes the painting's creation and context, much of the book focuses on the controversies that haunted the canvas for decades. When Guernica was first introduced at the Spanish pavilion of the 1937 International Exposition of Art and Technology Applied to Modern Life in Paris, it was ignored by many, criticized by others for ugliness-and even for not being political enough. Later acknowledged as a classic, it was housed in New York's Museum of Modern Art, safe from the war overseas. By the '60s, voices grew stronger asking for its return to Spain, the country that had originally commissioned its creation. With Franco still in power, an aging Picasso asked that the painting go to Spain only when the country was once again free from oppression. Within this larger narrative, Martin weaves a memoir of his own trek to visit Guernica, which finally arrived in Spain in the 1980s. The culmination of this thread, when Martin coincidentally views the painting on September 11, 2001, brings the narrative into the contemporary world and highlights Guernica's brutal relevance today.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Picasso's "Guernica" was painted in reaction to the barbarous Nazi bombing of the Basque village in Spain in 1937. Martin (Beethoven's Hair) extensively researched the circumstances surrounding the creation of this painting and the attention it has continued to command. On 9/11 he was in Madrid viewing "Guernica"; here he has collaged his response to the attacks in New York City with his feelings about the painting. In the face of such terrible loss, it may be reasonable to parallel the two horrific events; however, Martin mixes fact and opinion with his personal reminiscences. Picasso's politics were ambiguous at best; while he joined the Communist Party to please his friends after World War II, he became disillusioned with Stalin in the 1950s. Picasso said, when asked, in typical fashion, that painting was his party. "Guernica's" historical significance as possibly "the last great history painting" gets lost here, begging the question is it politics, art, or tragedy that is Martin's focus? He discusses visuals yet provides no illustrations, such as the photographs Dora Maar took of Picasso working on "Guernica" or the preparatory drawings. This effort will not satisfy the thoughtful reader, and it skimps on production. For a contrasting perspective on Picasso and "Guernica," try James Lord's Picasso and Dora. You can pass on this one. Ellen Bates, New York
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
