The extraordinary story of an artist, an atrocity - and a painting that shook the world.
From the bestselling author of 'Beethoven's Hair' comes a stirring narrative account of the town that inspired one of the world's most celebrated and controversial paintings, and the artist whose passion and vision altered the course of modern history and art.
On April 26, 1937, the Basque town of Guernica in northern Spain was bombed by Hitler's Luftwaffe in the midst of a bloody civil war on behalf of Francisco Franco' rebel forces. Twenty-four hours later, the village lay in ruins, its population decimated.
This act of terror and unspeakable cruelty - the first large-scale attack against civilians in modern warfare - outraged the world, and one man in particular. Pablo Picasso, an expatriate living in Paris, responded to the devastation in his homeland by beginning work on 'Guernica', a painting that many today consider the greatest artwork of the twentieth century.
Weaving themes of politics, art, war, and morality, and featuring some of the twentieth century's most memorable and infamous figures, Russell Martin follows this renowned masterwork across decades and continents.
From Europe to America and, finally, back to Spain, this book sheds light on the conflict that was an ominous prelude to World War II and delivers an unforgettable portrait of a genius whose visionary statement about the horror and terrible wounds of war still resonates today.
