Picasso’s War

On April 26, 1937, in the late afternoon of a busy market day in the Basque town of Gernika in northern Spain, the German Luftwaffe began the relentless bombing and machine-gunning of buildings and villagers. Three-and-a-half hours later, the village lay in ruins, its population decimated. This act of terror and unspeakable cruelty outraged the world and one man in particular, Pablo Picasso. The renowned artist, an expatriate living in Paris, reacted immediately to the devastation in his homeland by creating the canvas that would become widely considered one of the greatest artworks of the twentieth century—Guernica. Weaving themes of conflict and redemption, of the horors of war and of the power of art to transfigure tragedy, Russell Martin follows this monumental work from its fevered creation through itsjourney across decades and continents. "Absorbing . . . Picasso’s War is a fetching and well-crafted account of Pablo Picasso’s huge and astounding painting, Guernica."—Los Angeles Times "Refreshingly original . . . Martin is above all a first-rate investigator [who] deftly weaves together world and art history."—The Boston Globe "A fascinating and lively read."—The Denver Post"An engrossing story of a landmark work of art . . . Martin is, first and foremost, a consummate storyteller." —Kirkus Reviews