Gallery Talk: Why Pablo Picasso’s Guernica and Questions of War Matter Today

Tuesday, Mar. 26, Harvard professor Suzanne Preston Blier will discuss Pablo Picasso’s engagement with warfare and revolution, as she examines works on display in the installation "Picasso: War, Combat, and Revolution," on view through May 5. The installation complements Blier’s course on Worlds Fairs. Picasso’s painting "Guernica," commissioned by the Spanish government for the 1937 Paris World’s Fair, addresses the devastating Fascist-era aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica on April 26, 1937. More broadly, the painting confronts the horrors of war. The works on view explore many of "Guernica’s" core themes—imagery of death, struggles of good and evil, political and artistic revolution, and issues of desire and capture—which remain relevant today as war, violence, and fascism engulf key parts of the world.

Please meet in the Calderwood Courtyard, in front of the digital screens between the shop and the admissions desk. Harvard Art Museums are now offering free admission every day, Tuesday through Sunday. Please see the museum visit page to learn about the general policies for visiting the museums.