Vinyetes Al Front

The Dream and Lie of Franco

Minotauromachy

I visited the Picasso Museum to see the Vinyetes Al Front exhibit.  Vinyetes Al Front is Catalan for Bullets in Front.  The exhibit was a collection of propaganda posters from the Spanish Civil War.  These posters were very important during the Civil War because it was during a time where most people did not have access to radio and visual forms of propaganda were the most influential.  These posters were created by the Republicans, and the Fascists, as well as foreign nations to try and bring favor to their cause.  In general, these posters were large, colorful, and had exaggerated representations of the enemy.  I thought that it was very interesting to see how propaganda was displayed back then because I can compare it to propaganda in the wars that I have been alive for.

                Some of the more interesting aspects of the exhibit contain work by Picasso.  I was not aware that besides Guernica, Picasso had done a quite deal of other work about the Civil War.  In 1937, Picasso created a comic strip or series of satirical etchings about the military uprising of General Franco called The Dream and Lie of Franco.  I learned that proceeds of the sales of the production of the comic were donated to the Republican cause.  Personally, my favorite work of art in the exhibit is Picasso’s Minotauromachy.  It is a highly symbolic etching that depicts the sorrow and violence of the Civil War.  Two of these symbols are an enormous Minotaur and small girl holding a light in the air representing peace.  This was one of the most culturally enriching experiences for me because I was able to see a traveling exhibit containing rare work by Picasso and other artists.  These posters related directly to what I have been learning in my Catalan Cultural Studies and Spanish and English Voices of the Civil War courses.