Guernica is a 1937 statue made by French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 sculptor René Iché

René Iché

For the town in Morocco see Iche, MoroccoRené Iché was a 20th century French sculptor.-Life and work:...

.

History

It is one of Iché's most personal and violent works. He created this sculpture immediately after the bombing of Guernica

Bombing of Guernica

The bombing of Guernica was an aerial attack on the Basque town of Guernica, Spain, causing widespread destruction and civilian deaths, during the Spanish Civil War...

 on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. Shocked by the horror of the civilians' massacre, Iché worked all the day and the next night on his plaster statue. His daughter, Hélèn, who was six at the time, was his model. However, Iché refused to exhibit his work because of its violence. It was revealed to the general public in 1997, at the exhibition commemorating the centenary of the artist's birth. Thereafter, the sculpture was no longer exhibited and remains owned by the artist's family.