The Truth is Grey

At the 1937 Paris International Exposition, countries from across the globe proudly displayed new inventions and products, boasting techniques that could impact commerce and productivity. However, there was one glaring exception – the Spanish pavilion. 

Upon stepping inside, people came face-to-face with a daunting 11-foot-high and 25-foot-wide mural created by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. The Spanish Republican government had commissioned Picasso to create a piece responding to their ongoing Spanish Civil War. 

Photo: Calder Foundation

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Unlike the messages of growth and prosperity presented by other nations, Spain was calling attention to the horror and destruction clouding their country’s immediate future. The mural ambushes the viewer with a confusing collision of human and animal forms. Truncated limbs, contorted faces and frightened expressions mesh together in a chaotic abstraction that leaves one reeling. 

Although its masterful composition forces you to examine every inch of the painting, it appears void of a logical narrative. Try as you may, making sense of the image is difficult. But this was all part of Picasso’s plan. He once said, “If you give a meaning to certain things in my paintings, it may be very true, but it is not my idea to give this meaning.” Like the unpredictability of war, the fractured nature of the imagery is disturbing and unsettling. Undoubtedly, it left an indelible impression on those enjoying the otherwise uplifting Exposition.

What is most remarkable about Picasso’s mural is its use of colour, or, I should say, its lack of colour. Guernica consists only of grey tones. Picasso used hues of grey, white and blue-black matte-finish house paint to produce the artwork. Similar to a timeless black and white photograph, the painting captures a moment frozen in monochromatic starkness. This technique, known as grisaille, heightens the emotional impact of the piece. By minimizing the amount of colour in the mural, Picasso directs the viewer to concentrate on form and content. Guernica’s constrained palette enhances the painting’s provocative message.

The colour grey is paradoxical. Its long association with understated elegance positions it as a sophisticated hue. Picture the classic Oxford grey flannel business suit, the stately charcoal grey morning suit or the once fashionable grey fedora. Grey hair can often imply wisdom and experience. There is also a strength associated with the colour – consider the names gun metal grey, battleship grey and steel grey. Conversely, grey can be dull and drab – grey skies, grey days and grey water. Somewhere between the two extremes of black and white resides a nebulous spectrum of grey shades and tones, lending itself to phrases such as “grey zone” and “grey area.” We use both expressions to define ambiguity.

Picasso may have been echoing a statement made by celebrated French author of the day André Gide: “The colour of truth is grey.” Critics have proposed that the monochromatic painting and the repeated line pattern it incorporates are the artist’s way of referencing a newspaper. Is he presenting the imagery as the press might, through direct reportage? No colour, no embellishments – record what you see?

Picasso cleverly harnesses the complexities of the colour grey to reinforce his unglorified portrayal of the ravages of war. Grey unifies the imagery, giving everything equal importance. The viewer is thereby encouraged to examine concurrently the realistic and abstract elements of the composition, making them impossible to ignore. The audience’s engagement with the work intensifies as one searches for meaning and clarity. Guernica may leave you feeling confused or distressed, or both. Either way, Picasso has achieved his goal and provoked an emotional reaction. Today his masterpiece remains as powerful and upsetting as the day it debuted in 1937.