Guernica

Traveling through San Sebastian and the Basque region of Spain I came across the Tragedy of Guernica.

What happened in Guernica was an absolute disgrace, and the event was subject matter to a number of prominent Spanish artists at the time, in particular Picasso. While not being the worlds foremost connoisseur of fine art, I was quite interested, almost compelled to see his work on the event which is highlighted by his painting simply titled Guernica which hangs in the Madrid Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.

The piece of work has courted almost as much controversy as the event itself including the fact that the work is in the Sofia museum rather than Del Prado in accordance with Picasso's wishes.

The work itself is quite makes a strong impression, the large colourless work seems to capture the twisted event and feelings of the townspeople. Any trip to Madrid should include a trip to see Guernica. The museum also has a number of other very impressive works and collections from the likes of Salvador Dali, but nothing seems to match Picasso's collection in this museum.

Our trip to see Guernica wasn't without it's own complications, the museum closed suddenly and everyone evacuated for over an hour for no apparent reason but police were called in and the securety staff seemed quite uptight. Apart from this incident though, Madrid seems quite good on first impressions.