Influences of WWI on Early Modern Era Art
World War One was a catastrophe on a scale that's likes had never been seen before at the time. With it being the cause of over 20 million deaths while only lasting 4 years, from 1914 to 1918. Despite its atrocities, WWI influenced much of the world that we see today. From modern warfare to borders, and even art.
Around the time of the first world war, there was an emergence of various new art styles that have left their mark to this day. Many of these styles and pieces that were influenced by the war and its aftermath.
Art Pieces
In this next section I will briefly analyze three art pieces on how relate to the first world war.
The first piece is titled
Gassed and it is an oil painting by John Singer Sargent, finished in 1919 in London.
This painting is directly influenced by WWI as the artist, John Singer Sargent, was actually commissioned to document the western front by the British government. It depicts soldiers walking towards a field hospital in the aftermath of mustard gas attacks. Bodies, presumed dead, cover the ground leaving a narrow path for the survivors. WWI was the first war in history to see frequent use of chemical weapons, such as mustard gas being the most common. Warfare at the time had not yet adapted to these weapons resulting in countless deaths. This painting uses many art elements to amplify the feeling and depressive nature of the subject. Tone is utilized in this to create a depressing atmosphere. Man-made patters are used for the surrounding heaps of bodies. And finally shapes are used to convey the body language of the individuals in the line. All of these factors in conjunction create a depressing and honestly horrifying depiction of the aftermath of a singular gas attack.
This next piece is titled
The Menin Road (1919) by Paul Nash, completed in London.
Here we can see another example of an art piece commissioned by the British government.
Here we can see another depiction of what life on the front lines would be like. In my opinion this is a depiction of what is often referred to as "no man's land", the area between two trenches. Trench warfare was a new development during WWI. It involved two opposing trenches being dug with a wasteland stripped of all life from the constant bombardment of weaponry. Here we can see two figure crossing this wasteland, possibly in the aftermath of a major battle. This piece gives off less feelings of depression or despair and more of hope. As for art elements used color is one. There are intense white beams of light piercing the clouds in the background. Tone is also used to create depth and distance with the background of the painting. Lastly abstract shapes are also put to use to create abstraction within how the painting may be interpreted. It is worthy to not the Paul Nash was a typically a surrealist style painter, according to 'The Art Newspaper'. These elements, especially the open landscape and beams of light shining through give me the reaction of that optimistic hopefulness feeling.
The final work is by the English painter CRW Nevinson and is titled
La Patrie. This final painting was also completed in Britain in 1916.
It seems that the majority of art I could find centered around the theme of WWI was all commission work by the British Government and this is no exception. La Patrie depicts many wounded soldiers inside a field hospital. Within the many casualties of soldiers that passed during the war, not all of them died on the battlefield. Some died after. According to Encyclopedia Britannica there was over 21 million who suffered injuries. This painting is but a minuscule portion of that. This final piece uses art elements brilliantly in conveying the loss of hope and despair within the setting. There are dark tones conveying the dimly lit, what appears to be a barn, that the wounded are in. Color is used but as a symbol. The colors used are very bleak and monotone symbolizing the depressive nature of the subject at hand. And finally shapes are used in the facial expressions of the wounded. The sharp shapes displaying the pain on the faces stand out to me the most. All of these elements combined with the context, once again, give off intense feelings of despair and sadness.
Works Cited
I enjoyed your selections on the Influences of WWI on Early Modern Era Art. The yellow hue in the first painting, “Gassed” by John Singer Sargent captures the despair of The Great War. Interesting that the paintings you could find for WWI were all commissioned by Brittan. I feel paralyzed viewing the blinded soldiers being led by a young man helping navigate around the heaps of bodies with bandages over their eyes. Unfortunately, this war did not end all wars. Your next choice does give a beacon of hope. “The Menin Road” by Paul Nash shows the wastelands of rubble in a neat abstract way that surrealists were using to make it seem real, but not real? It does make you ponder if there is any hope left. The dark shadows in the skies and beams of sunlight bring you forward to the puddle of light to reflect upon when will the war end. Your last piece brings your analysis to a nice conclusion. “La Patrie” by CRW Nevinson brings you inside to the ones who made it out of the trenches and possibly survived. The anguish on their faces gives little hope in the dim barnyard room. There are small glimmers of hope coming from the door and windows. The natural lighting is gray and depressing. These paintings foreshadow the aftermath of the Great War which did not end all wars but sent soldiers home with great terror and shell shock. What we know as PTSD these days.
ReplyDeleteI really love the pieces you selected. La Patrie reminds me of the Great Depression for some reason. I think it’s because on some of their faces you see pain and worry.
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