On Structure in the Creative Process: A Quantitative Case-Study of the Creation of Picasso's Guernica

Abstract

This article presents a quantitative analysis of Picasso's preliminary works for his painting Guernica, to examine the nature of the thought processes underlying creation of this great work of art and to demonstrate the usefulness of quantitative methods in studying creation of a single work of art. Results indicated that the preliminary works for Guernica were drawn from a very limited subject matter, which was closely related to the event that stimulated the painting. In addition, the overall structure of the painting can be seen from the very first sketches. Finally, the idea which served as the core for Guernica came out of Picasso's work at that time. These findings indicate that Picasso's creative process can be looked upon as elaborating a kernel idea, rather than generating numerous different ideas, and culling the final direction from them at a later stage. These results have two implications. Specifically, they indicate that it is possible to analyze the structure in Picasso's thought processes; more broadly, they demonstrate that development of individual works of art can be analyzed using quantitative methods to test hypotheses concerning the creative process.