Massacre in Korea

The painting I chose to rhetorically analyze is a painting by Pablo Picasso called, Massacre in Korea. This painting was completed in 1951; historically, this is around the midpoint of the Korean War. The painting depicts nude women and children standing across from soldiers whom are pointing weapons at the frightened women. Pablo Picasso, a Spanish artist who has over 13,500 paintings to his name, completed this painting. Through some background research, I have come to the conclusion that the context of this painting was the 1950 Sinchon Massacre. This is a prominent event during the Korean War in which South Korean troops and American soldiers marched out to Sinchon, North Korea, and killed huge numbers of people presumed to be communist supporters, but also civilians. I believe the purpose of this painting was Picasso’s way of expressing his criticism for American intervention in the Korean War. Many people viewed America as the “super-hero” figure in war times; however, it seems in their attempt to take on that role in the Korean War, it was only causing more harm and greater complications. I believe the audience of this painting is very broad, but specifically I would say the painting is driven towards the American armed forces. Picasso wanted to make it clear to Americans that they do not have to get involved in every global problem, sometimes staying out of it is just as, or even more effective, than intervening. There are several rhetorical elements Picasso uses in his painting. The three that stick out to me the most are the appeal to pathos, the use of color, and the placement of the figures. Focusing on placement, it seems Picasso very strategically placed the victims in an unorganized, defenseless formation that has a less well defined shape while the attackers are in an arranged, neat square and are seemingly protected by their formation. Overall, I do believe Picasso fulfilled his purpose. Not only is there a clear anti-war message displayed, but he also does a wonderful job of portraying the evil Americans involvement is causing rather than good.