COIMBATORE: An 18-year-old student of NIFT-TEA College of Knitwear Fashion in Tirupur has recreated Guernica, Spanish artist Pablo Picasso’s 1937 masterpiece, on the occasion of his birth anniversary on Sunday.
It took M Sneha Adriana, a Ist year BSc Apparel Fashion Designing student, two weeks to finish the anti-war painting. “Even though I had not done any major paintings earlier, I agreed when my professor asked me to do it. As days passed, I grew impatient and often felt disappointed because I could complete only a portion even after spending several hours. I am glad I didn't give up,” Sneha told TOI.
Picasso had painted Guernica at his home in Paris in response to the bombing of Guernica, a town in northern Spain, by Germany and Italy. The 3.49m x 7.76m oil-on-canvas painting portrayed the horrors of war, in particular its impact on non-combatants and innocents women, children and animals.
The idea of recreating a Picasso painting as a tribute to him on his birth anniversary was conceived two weeks ago, said assistant professor G Boopathy Vijay. “His works have been a great source of inspiration. We wanted one painter to do it to ensure that the strokes are uniform. After the meaning of the painting was explained to Sneha, she started recreating it on her own. It was done with acrylic paints on a 3.49 ft X 7.76ft art paper.”
She spent a lot of time to get the minute details and shades right, Sneha said. “Some days, I used to work till 5am without break. I am really happy with the outcome and am confident of taking up similar works,” she added.