Unit 4 Meeting the muse

Using language

8 Listen to the audio guide and find out the main message of each artwork.

Audio guide 1

The title of this painting is Guernica. It was painted by the well-known Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso. Picasso painted this huge, breathtaking painting after the attack on the town of Guernica by the Nazis. It measures about 3.5 metres in height and almost 8 metres in width, and contains many different elements. In the centre of the painting, we can see a bull, a horse, a light bulb and a dead or wounded man lying on the ground. There have been endless debates about the meaning of these images, but Picasso insisted that it wasn't up to the painter to define them. He said that people must interpret the images as they understand them. Through these images, I can see the tragedy of war, and feel the people's fear as well as Picasso's anger towards the fighting. In the painting, Picasso uses only three colours: black, white and grey. In my opinion, this makes its effect more powerful than using a full range of colours.

Audio guide 2

Let's take a look at The Battlefield in Spring by Feng Zikai, who was one of the pioneers of modern Chinese cartoons. His illustrations deal with complex social issues in a simple and lively way, and are widely loved by Chinese people. This Chinese cartoon is painted in protest of Japanese aggression against China. In this cartoon, you can see a small section of a battlefield, made up of sandbags, an army cap and a wire fence. On one of the sandbags grow some grass leaves. The lifeless objects together with the grass leaves create a strong contrast. Unlike Guernica, I personally think this cartoon delivers quite an optimistic message. It shows that the destruction of war is only temporary, and that the power of life is everlasting. I can feel the strong spirit and hope in this cartoon. It is widely believed that the grass shows Feng Zikai's encouragement to the Chinese people as well as his hope for peace. Through his war cartoons, he wanted to express his belief that Chinese people would win the war and bring peace back to the country.