GUERNICA

Arguably one of the most recognizable paintings of the 20th century is Pablo Picasso's Guernica. However many people who recognise the painting would not know what it was called nor what inspired Picasso to produce such a painting.

Guernica is painted in blue, black and white oil paint on canvas. It is 3.5 metres tall and 7.8 metres wide and is now located in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. Picasso was commissioned by the Spanish Republican government to create a large mural for display at the World's Fair in Paris in 1937. The painting reflects the horror and devastation caused by the bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica by German and Italian planes on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War.

The Spanish Civil War was fought between 17 July 1936 and 1 April 1939. It began when a group of Spanish army generals tried to overthrow the Spanish government, under the presidency of Manuel Azana. The generals, supported by the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (C.E.D.A.), monarchist (known as Carlists) and the Fascists Falange became known as the Nationalists and were soon supported by Hitler's Nazi Germany, Mussolini's Fascist Italy and Portugal. General Franco, who had brought his soldiers from Morocco, was named as the leader of a Nationalist government on 1 October 1936.

After the coup attempt there were many uprising by workers around the country supporting the Republican government. The army were ruthless in crushing these revolts. The Republican side received support from the Soviet Union and Mexico. Volunteers flocked from all over the world to join the Republican cause, including volunteers from Australia and over 2,000 Americans. By the end there were over 30,000 volunteers from some 53 countries. These were often grouped together in 'International Brigades'.

Shown here are Australian troops who had enlisted independently in the Spanish Civil War.

Many reporters also converged on Spain to report the war first hand. These included Ernest Hemmingway, George Orwell and Robert Capa. George Orwell even joined in the fighting on the Republican side. Such was the coverage that it has sometimes been called 'the first media war'.

The war was seen as a battle between communism and fascism. It has also been seen as a prelude to World War 11, and it was certainly a chance for countries to test out military hardware and tactics. It saw tanks used on a large scale and in an offensive role and it saw large scale aerial bombing of towns such as Guernica.

Troops manning the barricades in Spanish streets.

The town of Guernica was 15 kilometres behind the Republican front lines. It was in the heart of Basque territory, a people who had held out against the Nationalist armies since the beginning of the civil war. Franco wanted to make an example and punish the city of 5,000 people. The German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion, led by Lieutenant Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen (cousin of the Red Baron)were keen to try out new aerial tactics and so targeted the city of Guernica for aerial bombardment. The bombing took place on a Monday when the town was full of people for market day. The Condor Legion bombed the city from a very low height before making another pass and machine gunning groups of fleeing civilians. The city exploded into a fire-ball and was completely devastated, 1,654 people were killed and 889 wounded. The world was horrified.

The war became known for its brutality and horror. Over 300,000 people lost their lives in the war, over a third of these were civilians executed by the other side. The war was marked by executions, assassinations and mass killings. The war ended when the remnants of the Republican army fled across the border into France in March 1939.

Interestingly a tapestry copy of Picasso's Guernica hangs on the wall of the United Nations building in New York City. When Colin Powell and John Negroponte held a press conference at the United Nations in 2003 the tapestry, which was in the background was covered up for the event by a large blue curtain. It seemed unfitting to be arguing for the war on Iraq with a painting commemorating death and destruction behind them....... and directly behind the speakers' head would be a horse's hindquarters (which to me would somehow seem very fitting).

This famous photograph by Robert Capa shows a soldier at the point of death. It was taken during the civil war in Spain.