By Peter Wainwright.
This production is well researched and all the appropriate references are given.
The bombing and destruction of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War is extremely important as it was used, and is used today, to show the frightfulness of Fascism and National Socialism.
The study can be divided into two parts. The first is concerned with the event itself and it refers to reports that testified to the German bombing. These are examined and demolished. Even the report by the British Consul is revealed to have been based on rumour and hearsay. Various writers and experts are quoted, including Luis Bolin (founder of the modern Spanish tourist industry) in his book, "Spain:The Vital Years" and C.G. Grey (editor of "The Aeroplane" magazine) in "Bombers".
The whole question of the Picasso painting is also examined with the opinions of art experts.
A sympathetic biographer, Carsten-Peter Warnicke, draws attention to the remarkable speed at which the painting was produced; and both he and Pierre Daix point to similarities to previous works by Rubens and Goya. Another biographer, Laura Payne reveals that the “screaming horse” motif appeared in a Picasso work completed in 1933, four years before the Guernica incident.
Light is also shed on Picasso’s life in Occupied France during the Second World War, when he worked without hindrance from the German authorities.