Instructional Video

Why Is This Painting so Shocking?

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This Why Is This Painting so Shocking? instructional video also includes:

Guernica stands as a masterpiece of anti-war art. The narrator of a short video examines the images in Picasso's massive, complex, and disturbing painting and offers an explanation of what the images may symbolize.

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CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Ideas
  • Include the video in a study of the Spanish Civil War, with a reading of Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, and/or a study of fascism
  • Have groups investigate and prepare a presentation of other examples of anti-war art
  • Assign difference section of the painting to groups and ask them to identify the images
Classroom Considerations
  • The narrator focuses on the images in the painting; he does not directly address the question of why the painting is shocking or the carpet bombing of Guernica that sparked Picasso's outrage
Pros
  • Provides links to related articles about the painting and about Picasso
Cons
  • None
Common Core