Pablo Picasso Guernica vs. Theodore Gericaults Raft of...

For centuries artists have moved audiences through the use of pictures. As time progressed those images became more and more demanding of the viewer until they were meant to invoke a physical response. Perhaps the earliest account of such emotionally exact artwork is the 1818 piece, Raft of the Medusa, by Theodore Gericault. As time progressed people became more politically aware and involved and generations of art portrayed this. Pablo Picassos Guernica, created in 1937, is a great example of how modern times soon saw a peak in the occurrence of allegorical and politically packed artworks. Gericaults The Raft of the Medusa and Picassos Guernica are both horrifying accounts of the nature of men that aimed to alter a viewers political†¦show more content†¦This predominantly two-toned color motif allowed for more focus to be drawn to the most dynamic figures, which are the same humans Gericault wanted viewers to see and sympathize for. While Gericaults, Raft of the Medusa was essentially criticized for its lack of direct criticism of the event and more a display of the human element, it is this feature that made it characteristically romantic. Gericault took the national scandal out of the papers and turned it into a personal event for each of the passengers. Rather than depict the weltering bodies of the crew, he gave them more muscular frames in vigorous poses. Originally setting out to portray the event as nothing more than a visual truth, he shifted his focus to portray a greater truth of suffering. The suffering is reflected in the face of every passenger and it is the main focus of the piece than any other element. The Rafts theme of human suffering evoked empathy and compassion, which helped project the image beyond any hopes the artist could have held for the piece. This predominant focus on the human condition allowed a stereotypical Romantic piece. Another artist famous for highlighting the human condition was Spanish-born, Pablo Picasso. In 1936 the Spanish government commissioned Picasso to paint a feature piece for their international exposition in Paris at the peak of World War II. Picasso was unsure of what to paint until in 1937 when Nazi warplanes bombed the Spanish town of