Early Modern Art
During WWI, art was not the same as it was in the other Eras. Art depicted during WWI was more on the Realism, Surrealism and Expressionism style of art. This focused on nightmarish events that have happened. Art during this time showed all of the propaganda of the war. It showed the harsh realities of warfare such as death. When the war first started, artists jumped right into action. Artists took this as an opportunity to showcase what is going on. They were able to show their experiences of the war through their art. Artists can capture different perspectives of the war that cameras can not.
This painting above is called Gassed, created by John Singer Sargent. This oil painting was created in 1919 in London and it captured a terrible moment during the war. In this painting, it shows the men that have been affected by the mustard gas. These men were in a checkpoint for evacuations, temporarily blinded and terrified. This piece showcases a lot of different perspectives of the war. It shows the bravery of these men fighting for what they believe in. It also shows the pain and suffering of combat. Paintings like this one were created to direct public opinion in a certain direction. It was also to help support the government's effort and also help show how the soldiers would be remembered.
When I first saw this painting, it kind of brought a little bit of sadness to my mind. Seeing these men walk blindfolded hopefully to some kind of help, just brings up a lot of different emotions. Everything that happened in the specific moment was well captured in this oil painting. The detail of every man in this painting is showing some kind of emotion. Some are sleeping, some are talking to others to keep everyone calm and others are walking around. The Realism is just phenomenal in this painting. This painting just shows the harshness but also the heroism in people when it comes to protecting something them believe in.
This painting above is called On the Wire created by Harvey Dunn. This painting was created in 1918 in France. This painting shows two soldiers carrying a dead soldier on a stretcher. On one side of the soldiers is a barbed wire fence and on the other is a red and blue flower. Harvey was an American artist that was commissioned to make paintings showing troops in action in Europe. Him and seven other artists would stop and draw sketches of what they would see. These artists painted what they saw, they painted the truth. The above painting showed the harsh reality of the war. It captures the sad moment of two soldiers returning with a fallen soldier. This type of painting was not welcome with some of the Army Officials. Many Officials wanted more propaganda instead of what artists like Dunn were sending back home. They did not want the harsh reality of war getting back home, but this showed the realism that was happening.
This painting shows the harsh reality of war and it was very interesting to see from this artist's standpoint. I feel like this painting has three different perspectives to it. The is the barbed wire fence that blocks off the gloomy side creating an ominous feel to it. On the other side there are bright colored flowers showing life flushing in battle. Then with the two soldiers it shows both the gloomy and emotional side of battle. Unfortunately they are caring for a fallen soldier but they came back with their lives. This shows the harsh reality of the war. The colors chosen for the piece work really well and can help show the emotions coming from the painting.
For this last painting I wanted to show something from the Surrealism side of art. This art was influenced by WWI caused by the chaos of the war. Surrealism is a very strange art style that can have odd looking shapes to revolutionise someone's experiences. It messes with the rational side of a vision. The painting I have chosen below helps show this.
This painting is called the Gray Day created by George Grosz in 1921. This painting was created when Germany was recovering from the war, the aftermath. There is an industrial worker, a veteran with a missing arm and then what looks to be a businessman walking with a briefcase. This is showing the typical aftermath of war, a happy businessman and a gloomy veteran. Most of Grosz's paintings were attacking the corruption of Germany. He was a part of the New Objectivity group in Germany. He wanted to show the decaying of Germany’s society. He used Surrealism to achieve this goal.
This painting stood out to me because of how everything was drawn. The shapes and color palette was such an odd choice but it made interesting pieces. It is interesting how he showed the aftermath of the war just in this painting. A war veteran and a businessman, one happy and one gloomy. Just to show the harsh reality of what a war can do to people.
These three paintings I have chosen all reflect in some way back to WWI. The first two paintings are done to show what is happening in the war. The harsh reality of war can change the way people think. The last painting was influenced by war due to the horrible things that had happened.
References
https://www.pafa.org/museum/exhibitions/world-war-i-american-art
https://www.capjournal.com/news/harvey-dunn-at-war/article_a56ef48c-c5ed-11e7-b6a9-8ffcb30a105a.html
http://warondrivel.com/george-grosz-internal-commissar-aftermath-tate-britain
Hi Taylor,
ReplyDeleteWe picked two of the same paintings, Gassed and The Wire in the same order too. What a funny situation. I agree with a lot of your thoughts on the painting, showing the grim and painful events of WWI. It is interesting to see the imagery in the painting and really consume the details as they for me slowly become more and more readily available as I look at the painting. The men on the ground as they are all piled up on the ground as orderlies guide the blinded men. Such a powerful image. I hadn’t noticed the wide range of emotions that you pointed out. Great post!
Hey Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI agree about how the first two pictures bring you sadness, I feel it too. On the Wire is my favorite of your art works you chose, although I do dislike saying “favorite” when discussing sad paintings. Realism always gets to me, especially when it is of people who are suffering through terrible times (as I’m sure it does to most). Good job choosing these paintings, they are very deep and relate to the theme really well.