''Guernica'' is a 1937 statue made by French sculptor René Iché.

History

''Guernica'' is one of Iché's most personal and violent works. He created this sculpture immediately after the

bombing of Guernica On 26 April 1937, the Basque town of Guernica (''Gernika'' in Basque) was aerially bombed during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe ...

on 26 April 1937, during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Shocked by the horror of the civilians' massacre, Iché worked all day and the next night on his plaster statue. His daughter, Hélène, who was six at the time, was his model. However, Iché refused to exhibit his work because of its violence. It was revealed to the general public in 1997, at the exhibition commemorating the centenary of the artist's birth. Thereafter, the sculpture was no longer exhibited and remains owned by the artist's family. The original plaster was given in 2011 to the Musée Fabre, where it is going to be restored.

References

{{Reflist Sculptures by René Iché Spanish Civil War in popular culture

Sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

1937 sculptures Plaster sculptures Anti-war sculptures

History

See also

References