Early Modern Blog Exhibit
The Impact of WWI on Early Modern Art
World War I, also known as The Great War, or The War to End all Wars, took place from 1914 until 1918. With this new age of global destruction also came a shift in art, as made sense. Art often reflects the current state of the world, or its country of origin. With this world war, many artists started depicting the gruesome acts of violence that were happening around the globe. This was in very sharp contrast compared to many of the abstract, vivid, and "happier" artworks that had started to appear with the invention of new art supplies and accessibility to the common people.
Paths of Glory
1917
CRW Nevinson
Britain
This painting is yet another that shows the tragedies of war. It depicts two dead British soldiers, left to decompose into the ground. They are shown laying behind a barbed wire fence, adding to the image of pain and suffering. The colors used in this work set the tone for the entire piece. The sky, grey and clouded by smoke contrasts the brown and grey of the land. It is amazing how lifelike a painting can look while still only using mundane colors. The observer can clearly see barbed wire, and destroyed shrubbery scattering the scene, but all depicted by muddy colors to attempt to show the horrible dullness of the destroyed battlegrounds. Nevinson attempted to show the world the dark side of war, the part nobody sees because nobody that is around is alive; the part that makes your heart sink for those who were there. He was very successful at this seeing as how this is one of the most famous paintings from the war.
Storm Troopers Advance under a Gas Attack
1924
Otto Dix
Berlin
This is another painting that depicts the sheer horror of war. This work was published on the tenth anniversary of the mobilization of German forces during WWI. Dix himself volunteered to join the German forces in 1915. He was fascinated by the elements of war, despite heavy trauma due to several injuries during his time in combat. The black and white elements in this etched plate add to the darkness surrounding the scene. The almost comic-like illustrations somehow add to the terror that already surrounds German forces. The lighter background also represents smoke, as we see in many war scenes. To me, this art piece represents a horrible time in history that marked so much death and destruction; a time that marks a time in history that we can look back on and learn from in hopes for a better future.
Destroy This Mad Brute!
Harry R. Hopps
1917
This is a famous US Army propaganda poster that depicted the Germans as ugly monsters and promotes Army enlistment. It was used to stir up hate towards Germany by the placement of subtle, or not so subtle depictions of the Germans. Firstly, the ape-like creature is standing on ground that reads America. This was very effective at creating hate for Germans for taking over American soil. The creature also holds a "helpless" woman in its arm, designed to press men to join the army to protect their women. This was a very effective poster due to the targeted audience, men. Stereotypically, men like to protect what is theirs, and this propaganda depicted Germans taking exactly that, creating, firstly, hatred for a country, and second, an outlet for that hate by enlisting. The bright colors in this piece were used to catch people's eyes and draw them in to see more detail. dark background draws immediate attention to what the character and the type are meant to present. Overall, this was a very well-constructed piece of propaganda, and it did its job very well.
Sources:
“Destroy This Mad Brute.” National Museum of American History, americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_443592.
“History - 'Paths of Glory', 1917, by CRW Nevinson (1878-1958).” BBC, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/wars_conflict/art/art_daily_life_04.shtml.
Nierendorfexpand_more, Otto Dix; Publisher: Karl. “Stormtruppe Geht Unter Gas Vor (Storm Troopers Advance under a Gas Attack), Plate 12 from Der Krieg (War), Otto Dix; Publisher: Karl Nierendorf ^ Minneapolis Institute of Art.” Mia, collections.artsmia.org/art/96545/stormtruppe-geht-unter-gas-vor-otto-dix.
Ian, nice work, you covered all the bases. The way war effects places and people is largely based on things like art, and this post shows that. One thing that stands out to me is that there is so much diversity in work created involving war, there are styles like Dada, that take a protest stance, there are neutral ones, simply for historical purposes, and there are works like Hopps “Destroy This Mad Brute” that are more like propaganda. No matter your stance on war, there is art depicting it. Good work!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the diversity of the pieces you chose here. Contrasting the gruesome first two works against the propaganda poster sets the tone of the time period very well. While the actual battlegrounds were horrific scenes of death and destruction for both sides, the propaganda machines back home were pumping out advertisements promoting a "Fight the Good Fight" attitude and depicting the enemy as dehumanized beasts. Very good choices!
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