Art Class - Guernica
The Spanish Republic commissioned "Guernica" from Pablo Picasso in 1937 for the Paris International Exposition.
It was inspired by the destruction of the Basque town of the same name during the Spanish Civil War. The town had sided against General Franco's Nationalist forces, so he authorized a Nazi attack. It was later admitted that this was a German experiment in carpet bombing.
The artwork was sent on tour to the Museum of Modern Art in 1939. Later that year, World War II started, and Picasso requested they hold his work until the "reestablishment of public liberties."
Franco tried to obtain "Guernica" in 1968 but Picasso refused. He passed away in France in 1973, and Franco passed away in 1975. King Juan Carlos I immediately started a transfer to democracy.
The painting was finally returned on this day in 1981, which was celebrated as a moral endorsement of Spain's new democracy. It was put on display in Madrid, and eventually housed in the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia since it was built in 1992. Basque Nationalists have opposed this, especially following the opening of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museo in 1997, which is in the Basque Country.
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