A Comparison Between Pablo Picasso’s Guernica and Paul Ruben’s Horror Of War

WAR IN PAINTING: A COMPARISON BETWEEN PABLO PICASSO’S GUERNICA AND PAUL RUBEN’S HORROR OF WAR
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War has always been part of human society, from the ancient world to modern civilization. While several elements of war have changed, such as weaponry, tactics, and involvement of citizens, the concept of war has largely remained the same, including reasons given for war and the consequences that it brings. There are several paintings by famous artists that have tried to capture the spoils. How the paintings are spread along the historical, artistic timeline highlights the inherence of war in human society. Examples of such works include Pablo Picasso’s Guernica (figure 1 in Appendix) and Paul Ruben’s Horrors of War (figure 2 in appendix). The current paper compares the two images and deduces the differences and similarities in war affairs between the different centuries painted each.
Guernica and Horror of War
An exciting aspect between the two paintings is that they have a similar theme despite being three centuries apart. Horrors of war were painted between 1637 and 1638 (17th century while Guernica was painted in 1937 (20th century). The common theme of war highlights the prevalence and war in both centuries. In Horrors of War, Ruben focuses on the 30 year's war fought within the Roman Empire between 1618 and 1648. On the other hand, Pablo Picasso found inspiration from the attack on Guernica on 26th April in 1937; an event the preceded the Total War approach to warfare by Germany in the Second World War.
Formal Comparison
The first key difference between the two paintings is that while Picasso's is in greyscale, Ruben's is colored. In other words, while Picasso chose to use shades of black and white to illustrate, Ruben relied on a combination of different shades of colors, including red, green, brown, and grey. In terms of similarities, both images have a balanced distribution of elements, with the main point of focus in the center of the painting. Further, both artists relied on oil on canvas to produce paintings that carry a similar theme: the theme of war and its spoils. Essentially, while the two paintings were produced in different historical timelines, they carry a similar message and rely on the same medium (oil and canvas) except for the choice of colors. Picasso's Cubic painting takes liberties with a monochromatic palette, large, violent, compelling images, and intense contrasts in dominant styles. On the contrary, Ruben does not apply intense contrast to his painting, but his figures are just as significant and compelling as those in Picasso's work.
Analysis
In the 17th century, warfare was different from that in the 20th century on many fronts. Weaponry is an example of the critical difference illustrated in the two paintings. In Guernica, the body parts at the bottom center of the image, including dismembered head, hand, and leg, illustrate the deadly impact of bombs. While bombs were present in the 17th c...