Stinky

'Guernica' by Picasso (1937) - It's 349.3 cm x 776.6 cm in size - Picasso painted the Canvas in just 35 days - The Spanish Republic commissioned it for its pavilion at the World Expo in Paris 1937 - The bombing was carried out on 26th April 1937 by Hitler's Condor Legion - It happened on a Monday, a market day in Guernica - Approx. 75% of the city destroyed - The death toll is something of dispute to this day and ranges from 126 to 1600+ - Only black, white and grey are used - The horse's body looks like newspaper - Horse pierced by a spear opens its mouth in agony - Above the horse an eye-shaped light with a bare bulb shines over the scene - On the right a woman leans out of a window with a lamp, while another figure raises its arms in a burning house - A bull stands calmly over a screaming mother holding her dead child - A fallen soldier grips a broken sword and a small flower grows from it - Lower right a woman stumbles forward into the light, dragging her leg behind her - His partner Dora Maar photographed the whole creating process, check it here: guernica.museoreinasofia.es/… - When asked about the symbolism, Picasso answered: 'This bull is a bull and this horse is a horse.' - In 1938–39 it raised money for Spanish relief in London, Manchester and the US - From 1939, MoMA in New York looked after it on Picasso's behalf, sending it on tours until 1957, then keeping it on display until 1981 - In 1974 an artist (Tony Shafrazi) sprayed " Kill Lies All" on it in red paint - Thanks to the varnish, the paint could be cleaned off - Check the artist's police statement here: guernica.museoreinasofia.es/… - Picasso wanted it to go to Spain only once democracy was restored - It arrived in Madrid in September 1981, 8 years after his death - It was first shown behind bomb- and bulletproof glass - Since 1992 it hangs in the Reina Sofia - A tapestry version of the artwork hangs outside the UN Security Council - In 2003 the tapestry was covered up, before Colin Powell made the case for the Iraq war