The Virtues of Difficulty: Pablo Picasso

The Virtues of Difficulty
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The Virtues of Difficulty
Aspects of difficulty in relation to Pablo Picasso’s 1937 mural known as Guernica are mostly depicted due to its meaning in relation to the mass killings that inspired it. The nature of this oil on canvas painting through the use of both modern and traditional painting and art techniques in its creation results in different virtues of difficulty. The first virtue of difficulty observed in this masterpiece is the anti-aesthetic nature of the painting. Due to its purpose as an anti-war symbol and the use of monochromatic colors, this painting’s aesthetic attributes are quite limited. Being that it depicts an emotion of sadness and the components of the painting actually show a kind of deformity and detriment brought about by war, the virtue of austerity emerges. This virtue of difficulty is depicted through the strict nature of Picasso’s painting to convey a stern message that is related to a sad time in society. Through this virtue, the viewer can easily understand and feel the emotion behind the painting while still creating a connection with the artist’s effort to come up with a unique piece of art.
The complexity of Picasso’s painting presents itself through its abstract nature. There are both traditional and modernist aspects within this painting. Through the use of expressionism to pass the intended message, impressionism to depict certain images in a way that they can be related to real events and the modernistic concept of cubism, Picasso explored the maximum magnitude of abstraction when he completed Guernica. The level of visual complexity is achieved in high standards through the successful presentation of a chaotic and confused atmosphere within the painting. Symbolism is the main characteristic of this painting and it is achieved through the abstraction of this painting through the use of cubism which was a much more modern approach to art.
Since cubism constitutes geometric shapes, it can be associated to the virtue of mechanization by principle. There is a type of uniformity within the painting regardless of its representation of chaos. Even if cubism was not a priority in the message that this painting was supposed to represent, it is possible that Picasso integrated cubism as an innovative manipulation of the abstract nature of the painting since it created a notion of mystery towards the symbol of the painting. Picasso has maintained his renowned status through his intense representation of almost all the virtues of difficulty in his artwork. The 1937 painting of Guernica contains almost every known virtue of difficulty within it. An anti-authoritarian aspect is very well visible within Picasso’s anti-war painting. The decisions to carry out the actions depicted in Picasso’s painting are related to an authoritarian decision. Looking at this painting there is an anti-authoritarian aspect that criticizes the decision that led to the bombing of the city during the Spanish Civil War. This anti-authoritarian depiction is another example of a virtue of difficulty that is related to social norms and the challenges that these social norms face through...