Pablo Picasso

The Dream and Lie of Franco

1937

These satirical ‘comic strips’ publicized the artist’s outrage against the senselessness and horror of war. Originally designed to be mass produced as postcards, they were published in the Parisian journal Cahiers d’Art along with poetry by Picasso that described his grief over Guernica, the undefended Basque town bombed by the Nazis in 1937. Printed left to right the etchings read right to left. Together they form an 18 scene narrative. In the top left the Fascist General Francisco Franco is depicted as a mad, mythical, and monstrous figure destroying Spain’s classical sculpture. Further down he is in combat with a bull representing Spain.

On view

Artist Pablo Picasso
Original Title Sueño y mentira de Franco
Date 1937
Medium Aquatint
Dimensions (one of) two parts, each 38.2 x 54.5 cm
Credit line Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York)
Accession 76.2553 PG 4a
Collection Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Type Work on paper

Copy caption

On view


Other artworks