Welcome to the Reina Sofía Museum – Home of Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Co-founder of the Cubist movement, he constantly reinvented his style, leaving a lasting impact on modern art. Among his vast body of work, one of his most powerful and politically charged paintings is Guernica.
Guernica (1937) was Picasso’s response to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. On April 26, 1937, German and Italian warplanes, supporting Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, carried out a devastating attack on the town. Picasso painted Guernica for the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 Paris International Exposition.
The massive black-and-white mural, which measures over 11 feet tall and 25 feet wide, is a stark, surreal depiction of the horrors of war. Twisted human and animal forms — a screaming woman, a dying horse, a fallen soldier — express agony, chaos, and loss. Without using color or overt realism, Picasso captured the emotional and physical destruction of war, making Guernica a timeless anti-war symbol.
Today, Guernica is housed in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain, and remains one of the most important artworks of the 20th century — both as a masterpiece of modern art and a searing political statement.
