The Sir Anthony Browne Society (SABS) at Brentwood School is a society for Sixth Form pupils, which provides them with an opportunity for intellectual discussion and cultural interest.

This week pupils met with Professor Anthony Slinn, a painter who spent 30 years teaching at art colleges then set-up his ‘Roadshow' to share his enthusiasm for art and artists. Pupils learnt about the painting Guernica by the artist Picasso. Professor Slinn talked enthusiastically about Picasso's work, calling Guernica "the greatest painting of the twentieth century," explaining further that Guernica was a protest painting, but not political, "it's a passionate painting about mans inhumanity to man."

Professor Slinn informed pupils that Guernica was a small town in the northern area of Spain which was bombed on the 26th April 1937. This particular attack was planned by Franco and Hitler as a testing ground for new rigorous forms of bombing, and they chose market day to bomb for 4 ½ hours. 1600 people were killed and 900 were injured. Professor Slinn also spoke about the Press who were told of the bombing and were watching the destruction as eye witnesses.

The Times reported about the tragedy of Guernica from an eye witness account, stating that people were running away from the bombs and then getting machine gunned down. Professor Slinn believes that "the world lost its innocence on this day." He then explained to pupils that Picasso decided to paint Guernica in the summer of 1937 after he heard news of the bombing.

Picasso was asked to exhibit in 1936 at The Spanish Republican Museum which was to be held in Paris in 1937. Pupils were shown slides of photographs taken by Dora Maar, Picasso's mistress, who was the only person ever aloud in Picasso's studio with a camera. From her images students could see Picasso working out his ideas on the Guernica canvas. Picasso created his first drawing to clarify his ideas on Guernica on the 1st May 1937. Professor Slinn explained to pupils that within this drawing was a horse, which he believes represents the innocence of man, due to horses being blindfolded and killed in bull fights. Another symbol used in Guernica is a raised fist.

Picasso used a form of cubism in Guernica, which was the only time he ever used cubism in a painting. Picasso also uses no colour in Guernica and turns the painting from an outdoor scene to a room indoors by painting in a light bulb. Professor Slinn believes that Picasso uses the light bulb as a symbol, to show that it was electricity that powered the planes that destroyed Guernica.

Professor Slinn then told the students about the International Exhibition in Paris in 1937 where Picasso exhibited Guernica at The Spanish Republican Museum. The painting was not signed or dated by Picasso but was one of the most relevant paintings ever exhibited to that particular moment in history. Guernica then went on to tour Europe and ended up in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1980 Guernica was transferred on Picasso's request to the Prado Museum in Madrid, and was later moved across the road to the Reina Sofia Museum which now houses Guernica.