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Hey, Jihun! I just bought a ticket for the Picasso exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art this weekend. Want to come? |
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Hmm, maybe. I’ve heard of Picasso, of course, but I never really understood why he’s considered such a big deal. Is his art really that groundbreaking? |
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That's a fair question. Picasso wasn’t just a painter—he completely transformed modern art. He co-founded Cubism, which broke away from traditional perspective and represented objects using geometric forms. |
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Right, Cubism… That’s when things look all fragmented and abstract, right? |
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Exactly! Instead of showing a subject from just one angle, Cubism presents multiple viewpoints simultaneously. His painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a great example—it shocked people at the time with its raw, distorted forms and influence from African art. |
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Interesting. But what about Guernica? I keep hearing that name. |
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Guernica is probably his most powerful work. It’s a massive anti-war mural painted in response to the bombing of the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The composition is monochromatic, and the use of stark contrasts and distorted figures creates this overwhelming sense of chaos and suffering. |
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So it’s more than just technique—it’s also political? |
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Definitely. Guernica is loaded with symbolism: the screaming woman holding a dead child, the bull, the broken sword. Picasso used his visual language to convey emotional and political messages without being literal. |
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Wow, I didn’t realize his art had so much depth. I thought it was just strange-looking portraits! |
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That’s a common first impression. But once you learn about the historical context, artistic innovation, and symbolism in his work, you start to see why Picasso is considered a revolutionary figure in 20th-century art. |
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You’ve convinced me. Let’s go to the exhibition together. I want to see Guernica in person—wait, is it going to be there? |
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Sadly, the original Guernica is in Madrid, at the Reina Sofia Museum. But they’ll have detailed reproductions and some preparatory sketches on display. |
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Good enough for me. I’m in! |
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