Learning Experience/Unit
Picasso: Artist of the Century
Learning Context/ Introduction
In this unit, students learn about the life and works of Pablo Picasso. They work in small groups to share facts about Picasso and complete a worksheet together, focusing on art as a reflection of culture and history.
The students then study Picasso's mural Guernica, and compare their own observations about the painting with opinions of art historians. Many art historians believe that Guernica was painted by Picasso as a depiction of the impact of the 1937 bombing of Guernica, Spain (the cultural center of the Basque people) by Germany's Condor Legion. Germany was apparently using Guernica as a test site for “blanket bombing,” and in three hours, 70 percent of the city was destroyed and 1,600 civilians killed or wounded. Reports later indicated that General Francisco Franco may have requested the attack to break Basque resistance to Nationalist forces.
On April 24, 1999, the German Parliament formally apologized to the citizens of Guernica for the role of the Condor Legion in the bombing of the town.
On February 5, 2003, a tapestry reproduction of the Picasso mural was covered up at the United Nations when Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke there. Observers speculated that the mural was covered because of its depiction of war. In this unit, students will have the opportunity to discuss their views of Guernica.
Students may not know the history of the town of Guernica, and may not realize that the painting is viewed in different ways; as a protest against the inhumanity of war, as “the picture of all bombed cities,” and as the story of the impact of war on a town in Spain. Art historians suggest that instead of using traditional battle imagery, Picasso used the Spanish bullring to show the power and tragedy of battle. The bull could be Picasso himself viewing the holocaust of the bombing, the fight between the Loyalists and Nationalists, or the struggle between the Spanish people and Franco's regime. Others see the bull as representing the virtues and values of Spanish culture, or the relationship between good and evil. Students research interpretations of Guernica, keeping in mind Picasso's statement:
“These are animals, massacred animals. That's all as far as I'm concerned…. In the picture which I shall call Guernica, I am expressing my horror of the military caste which is now plundering Spain into an ocean of misery and death.”
Students should be aware that there are multiple interpretations of the painting, which may be exactly what Picasso intended.
Procedure:
- Students participate in a cooperative learning strategy called jigsaw to introduce them to the life of Picasso. Students are organized into groups of four. Each student is given a different fact sheet (Handouts A, B, C, and D) on Picasso, and work together to complete the group handout Actividad: Pablo Picasso. They must share the information on their individual fact sheets to be able to answer the handout questions.
- Students are introduced to the art of Picasso through websites, and reading materials about Picasso. They are to select three Picasso paintings from three different decades. For each of the three paintings, they are to identify the name and date of the painting, and then write a short paragraph in Spanish explaining why each painting intrigues, bothers, or astonishes them.
- The students then study a large copy of the painting Guernica (1937) and answer the following questions:
- What do art critics say each item in the painting represents?
- What do you believe the painting as a whole represents?
Once students share their observations about the painting, they are provided background information about the Spanish town of Guernica. They are asked to analyze the painting again, given what they know about Guernica's culture and history. Students are then given expert interpretations of the painting. They compare their own analyses with the interpretations of art historians, diagramming the information as a class in a Venn diagram.
Resource Materials
- Computer access
- Books and videos on Picasso such as:
- Color Your Own Modern Art Masterpieces by Muncie Hendler (Dover Publications, 1996)
- Picasso's Postcard Book, Running Press Book Publishers, 1988
- Picasso's Guernica Poster, Barewalls Interactive Art, Cambridge, Massachusetts, n.d.
- Picasso, a Primitive Soul (video), A & E Biography
- The Anti-Coloring Book of Masterpieces by Susan Striker (Henry Holt & Company, 1982)
- Picasso Paints Picasso (video), Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Large copy of Picasso's painting Guernica
- Websites and books, newspaper articles on Guernica, and the United Nations tapestry reproduction of the painting
- El miron y la duplicidad by Juan Antonio Ramirez, Alianza Editorial, 1994 (for teacher reference about Guernica )
- Handouts: A, B, C, and D Fact Sheets - Detalles de la vida de Pablo Picasso
Detalles de la vida de Pablo PicassoDetalles de la vida de Pablo Picasso (B)Detalles de la vida de Pablo Picasso (C)Detalles de la vida de Pablo Picasso (D)Actividad: Pablo Picasso
Assessment
Students are assessed on their ability to examine artwork and make inferences using analysis and evaluation, and to assemble information to reach a logical conclusion. They are also assessed on:
- skills in sharing fact sheet information to answer the questions on the group worksheet (jigsaw activity),
- writing a short paragraph about three works of art by Picasso, and
- participating in the class discussion on Guernica.
Teachers are encouraged to select assessments from the rubrics provided in the
Languages Other Than English: Checkpoint C Resource Guide.
**See
Related Content section below.
Authors
- Elizabeth Bossong, Vestal High School
- Rebecca Byam, Oneonta Central School District
- Mary Champagne-Myers, Greece-Acadia High School
- Linda Critelli, Williamsville Central School District
- Deborah Dalton, Oneonta Central School District
- Françoise Goodrow, Bruston-Moira High School (retired)
- Barbara Gorham, Royalton-Hartland Central School District
- Nancy Ketz, Holland Patent Central School District
- Shadia Khalifa, Onondaga High School
- Cindy Kennedy, Kenmore East High School
- Michael Livingston, Sachem High School
- Marie Loria, Valley Stream Central School District (retired)
- Donyce McCluskey, West Canada Valley Central School District (retired)
- Marna Meltzer, Bethlehem Central School District
- Vickie Mike, Horseheads High School
- Jennifer James, Onondaga High School
- Rosine Leloir, Newcomb Central School District
- Gail Parsons, Northern Adirondack Central School District
- Joanne Poserina, Connetquot High School
- Dawn Santiago-Marullo, Victor High School
- Suzanne Schermerhorn, Mayfield High School
- Madeline Turan, Sachem High School
Source
LOTE Writing Team. "Picasso: Artist of the Century." In Languages Other Than
English (LOTE) Checkpoint C Resource Guide. New York State
Department of Education, 50-57.
