Museo Reina Sofía Launches Series Pairing Picasso’s 'Guernica' with 'African Guernica'

The Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid has introduced a new annual exhibition series called 'History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but It Does Rhyme,' which connects Pablo Picasso’s iconic painting 'Guernica' (1937) with various other artworks. The first exhibition features Picasso’s work alongside Dumile Feni’s expansive charcoal piece 'African Guernica' (1967), which addresses the violence of apartheid in South Africa. This series seeks to explore the broader political themes behind Picasso's anti-war artwork while highlighting race as a pressing concern for modern art institutions in Spain. 'Guernica,' illustrating state violence against civilians during the Spanish Civil War, has been part of the Reina Sofía collection since 1992. Feni’s piece, created in exile, resonates with similar themes of protest. The exhibition's title is inspired by a saying often linked to Mark Twain, and the series will continue annually, each time featuring a new artwork alongside 'Guernica.'