Guernica - a 3D representation

A lesson on Picasso's Guernica with a variety of projects. From anti-war artwork, to Picasso biographies and original Journals by Guernica survivors all from the student;s of C' class.
The starting point  was the video below along with a text describing the artistist's inspiration.

Guernica 3D from GaliciaCAD on Vimeo.

WORKSHEET
Task 1.
a. Read the title of the article and write down 10 words that you associate with it.
b. Work in pairs. Compare your list with your partner.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……...………………………………………………………………………………………………
Task 2.
a. In pairs, read the article and discuss if any words from your lists were
included in it.
b. What information do you think is missing? Discuss with your partner.
The artist’s eye
It was 1937. Spain, Pablo Picasso's home country was suffering from
a civil war, while he was living in Paris. On April 26th, the Spanish
government sent planes to bombard a small village in northern Spain
called Guernica. Guernica was completely destroyed. 1600 civilians were
killed. A._____________
Picasso was stunned by the photographs. He rushed
to his studio, where he quickly sketched the first images for the mural he
would call “Guernica”.
The cubist painting by Picasso, called “Guernica”, is an immense black
and white mural painted in oil. The mural depicts a scene of death,
violence, brutality, and helplessness. It shows the suffering people and
animals experience in the violence and chaos of a war. The overall scene is
within a room. There are humans, animals and buildings in this scene but
there seems to be no background. B.________ . On the right, there is
another woman trapped in a burning building.
The painting is very large: 349 x 776 cm. Despite its great size, it was
painted in less than two months. Picasso was so angry about what had
happened in Guernica that he wanted everybody to immediately take notice
of the brutal event. All the figures in the painting seem to be crammed
together and their mouths are open as though they are crying out.
C_______ .
D._______ The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as
they understand them”. Even though opinions about the exact meaning of
the images of the painting are numerous, there is no doubt that the
painting sends a strong antiwar message, not only about what happened in
Guernica but about the kind of suffering that takes place in any war.

Task 3.
Now, read the article in detail and put the missing paragraphs in place. Check
your answers.
1. On the left side of the painting we can see a mother holding her dead child.
A wide-eyed bull stands over the woman. At the bottom lies a fallen soldier,
still holding his broken sword from which a flower grows. In the centre
above the soldier is a horse whose body is pierced with a spear.
2. The next day, George Steer, a reporter working for The Times revealed the
destruction. By May, news of the massacre at Guernica had reached Paris.
Eyewitness reports filled the front pages of Paris papers.
3. Some people criticized Picasso's cubist style because they could not
understand his symbolism. Picasso answered his critics, “It isn’t up to the
painter to define the symbols.
4. We get the feeling that they can't get away from the horrors of war; they are
trapped in their suffering.

Task 4.
a. Read the article again. Underline any unknown words. Try to guess their
meaning from the context. As a class discuss the meanings of the words.
b. In pairs, scan the text and find the words below. Then, match them to their
definitions.
1. immense a. slaughter
2. massacre b. cruelty
3. crammed c. stab and cut
4. civilians d. overcrowded
5. brutality e. huge
6. helplessness f. citizens
7. interpret g. defenselessness
8. depicts h. wall painting
9. pierce i. understand and explain
10. mural j. shows

Task 5.
In groups of four, discuss:
a. What made Picasso paint “Guernica”?
b. Why do you think the painter chose to use only black and white?
c. What message is the painter trying to send?
d. Why did Picasso choose not to explain his symbolism?
e. Which other forms of art do you think are effective in protesting against
war?

Task 6.
Watch the video .
What effect does the 3-D animation have?
How does the musical background influence the viewer?

HOMEWORK
Work in Groups. Choose one of the following tasks.

Task 7.
Do some research. Find out more about Picasso and his life. Write his biography.
Task 8.
either
a. You’re an art critic. Write a description of Guernica.
or
b. You were there! Imagine you were a survivor of the bombing in Guernica. Write
about your experience
Task 9.
either
a. Add to the painting! What else would you add to Picasso’s masterpiece?
or
b. Draw your own painting or design a poster making a statement against the
brutality of war.