The Dream and Lie of Franco I

Roger Lacourière|Pablo Picasso|Pablo Picasso

1937 · Etching and sugar-lift aquatint · Drawings and Prints

The Dream and Lie of Franco I and its companion, The Dream and Lie of Franco II, form a damning condemnation of Francisco Franco, the fascist general who toppled the Republic during the Spanish Civil War and subsequently ruled as dictator of Spain for nearly four decades. Together, the two prints comprise an eighteen-scene narrative that was reproduced on postcards and sold to support the Republican government during the war. Picasso drew on his unique style of abstraction to impart the terror of war, representing Franco as an abject, monstrous figure throughout. The last four scenes, which were added after the Basque town of Guernica was leveled by bombs, relate to studies for his famed mural Guernica (1937) in the collection of the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid.

Artist

Roger Lacourière|Pablo Picasso|Pablo Picasso

Date

1937

Medium

Etching and sugar-lift aquatint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. E. Powis Jones, 1986