Oh man, my art history degree finally has a use On Here.
The banner to the right on the flag is a piece of Picasso's Guernica. Here is the full piece (click for full size):
Picasso was commissioned by the Spanish Republican Government (this was the government *at odds* with the Spanish Nationalists, to be clear, who were fascists) to create a mural for the Spanish pavilion at the World's Fair in 1937. They essentially commissioned him for pro-Spanish Republican propaganda -- they wanted a mural that showed the importance of the Spanish Civil War and why it was necessary for the Spanish Republicans to win.
Picasso sort of waffled on this. No one's entirely sure why; could've just been an art block cause by, you know, the global rise of fascism. He was commissioned in January and until April hadn't produced much more than sketches. This bombing took place on April 26 and Picasso produced the sketch (at the suggestion of Spanish poet Juan Larrea) that would become this mural. The finished piece was unveiled at the Paris International Exposition at the Spanish Pavilion in July of 1937. Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia had a huge presence there with their own massive propaganda-filled pavilions, so unveiling this was a gutsy fucking move given the tensions of the time.
Most figures in this mural have their own symbolism, and they're all fascinating and very sad, but the one that doesn't -- the one that simply is, and is powerful as its own contained image -- is the one chosen here: a mother holding her dead child, her head thrown back as she wails with grief.
This is one of the most famous anti-war pieces of art in the world, and it was made because fascists bombed Guernica. To see Guernica using it now in solidarity with Palestine, where (as of my writing this) 10,000 children have been killed, is unspeakably moving.
The Middle East Monitor reported on it three days ago. In the US, Very few national media outlets have picked this up - probably because the meat behind it is being overshadowed by more urgent statistics and updates on the genocide - but many local newspapers have. As best I can tell, The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, Colorado was the first.
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