18 THE  ART OBSERVER July 2010 By Wendy J Levy A MAJOR EXHIBITION  of paint- ings by Pablo Picasso, arguably the greatest artist of the 20th century, is currently on show in Liverpool. Although Picasso’s extraordinary artistic achievements have been universally recognized, his active involvement with com- munism was largely overlooked by those whose only interest lay in the visual images he created. Picasso’s most iconic political painting, Guernica,   depicts the bombing of Guernica by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. Guernica  doesn’t appear in this exhibition but Charnel House does. Painted in 1945, Charnel House  is Picasso’s most overtly political painting since Guernica and is the kingpin of this exhibi- tion which focuses on Picasso’s art as a tool for his political involvement. Charnel House  was based on a short documentary film about a Spanish Republican family who were killed in their kitchen. Rather than addressing one particular incident, however, Picasso has created a poignant universal image of conflict and its victims. The painting is absent of colour, having been created in tones of grey to reflect the black and white docu- mentary film on which it was based. Picasso’s first overtly political work was a series of etchings EXHIBITION REVIEW and prose poems produced in 1937, titled The Dream and Lie of Franco.  The work ridicules the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco, by portraying him in an idiotic way destroying Spain and its culture. During World War 1, The Spanish Civil War and World War II, Picasso maintained his stance as a pacifist and refused to fight. His political feelings against Franco forced his move to Paris where, in 1944, he joined the French Communist Party. He attended many interna- tional peace conferences in vari- ous parts of the world and remained a loyal member of the Communist Party until his death in 1973. During his lifetime Picasso gave a substantial amount of his work to raise funds for the Communist Party. His high profile made him quite an asset to the Party and his paintings provided the Communists with much publicity as well as monetary gains for their political cause. The exhibition at Tate Liverpool brings together over 150 works by Picasso from various parts of the world and portrays the artist as a political activist and cam- paigner for peace. Indeed, several of the paintings depict the plight of women and children, some paintings revisiting those of ear- lier artists with strong political or social messages, and his Dove of Peace features strongly within the exhibition. Picasso: Peace and Freedom is showing at Tate Liverpool until 30th August 2010. Admission £10 (£8 conces- sions), family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is £20. Picasso, Painter and Communist, at Tate Liverpool The Charnel House, Paris 1944-1945 Monument to the Spaniards Colombe Dove (La Colombe) 1949 Woman with a Dove (Femmes a la Colombe) 1955