Favourite Paintings: 'Guernica' by Pablo Picasso

'Guernica' is probably one of the most famous paintings in the world. It commemorates the bombing of the town of Guernica in 1937 by the Germans and Italians at the request of Spanish fascists during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso painted it in black, white and grey and the painting became an instant success, went on tour to raise funds for war relief and ended up in the USA since Picasso refused to allow it to go to Spain until the fascists had finally been defeated and a republic was instituted. When I first saw reproductions of it it was held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and was only sent to Spain in 1981. I first saw reproductions of it in 1976 when I did art at school and only saw the painting for the first time in 2016.

I saw the painting in Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid in 2016, in a room on its own with no photos allowed and the huge painting was flanked by two security guards to protect it and its image rights. The room was quite crowded and silent, people standing back from the terror in front of them. The dead and dying women and children, the fatally wounded animals, the bull, Picasso's symbolic animal, it's all there to be drunk in by sober eyes and silenced the normally chattering students. I knew it was big but didn't realise it was that big. It was an astonishing sight.

The painting is forever linked to the events it portrays and to the politics surrounding it, and Picasso's republicanism and refusing to allow it to be displayed in fascist Spain. It remains a powerful statement against war and oppression.