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While it may seem at first glance that Guernica, by Pablo Picasso, is a political statement against the tragedy of the bombing of a small Basque town during the Spanish Civil War, this painting holds connotations beyond the syllogism for which it is given credit. Picasso, unlike Romantic period artists, who are attributed to great political propaganda, is not suggesting an emotionally based judgment should be made about the contemporary event, but rather a focus on the contemplation of the forces of good and evil at work throughout timeless humanity. On the afternoon of April 26, 1937, German forces under the command of the Spanish fascist leader Francisco Franco embarked on the first aerial bombing of a civilian target, the small town of Guernica. The attack was due to the conflict in Spain, the Spanish Civil War: an issue of Democracy against Fascism. The war heightened the threat of Communism and Fascism in Western Europe to a new level. Franco’s attack on the small town, a center of culture in Basque, made it clear that his forces were strong and unrelenting. His allegiance with German forces spawned one of the most tumultuous times in modern history. The aerial bombing of Guernica became a symbol of his unmerciful, cruel po