In this detail from Pablo Picasso's Guernica, a bull impales a horse, in a chaotic scene which, otherwise, is relatively straightforward. Here, however, the meaning has elucidated critics for over fifty years.
I don't claim to have the reading, but I do have a reading--an incorrect one, but a hopefully interesting one. During Franco's Spain, bulls and bullfighting were used to keep the populace happy ('pan y toros'). Equally, the Andalusian horse is seen around the world as a sign of Spanish diversity.
Through this, I believe Picasso was showing how Franco was wiping out Spanish culture with his regime. Though this was painted in 1945, the prediction would prove correct: Franco heavily policed the many languages of Spain, and few traditional artforms were allowed to survive.
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