Picasso, Gernika, and Mariupol: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Death of Francisco Franco
The tapestry version of Picasso's " Guernica " that hangs in the United Nations headquarters in New York On November 18 of this year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Spain to discuss more military aid for Ukraine in its fight to fend off the Russian aggressor and remain an independent, democratically governed people. He and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid to view Pablo Picasso ’s famous painting, “Guernica”. Zelenskyy noted how the work portrays so well the horrors of war, especially the bombing of civilians, such as that which Russia is currently inflicting on the cities of Ukraine. It was not the first time Zelenskyy had made the connexion. In April of 2022, on a video call with Sánchez, he noted the relevance of the famous painting for Ukrainians. The months of both of those times Zelenskyy connected with Spanish authorities and referred to this painting—April and November—are s...