Art Analysis of WWI Paintings Conveys War's Destruction and Desensitization
1. Name: Tara Pawlyk
Art of World War One
Go to the following website:
http://www.art-ww1.com/gb/guide/3guide.html
Directions: Choose two painters from each of the topics, browse their paintings and
write down what you see, feel, and what the art makes you think about with regards to
the novel or the War in general.
The Assault
Painter One: Eric Kennington
See: I see the soldiers outside in the snow. Their is a dead soldier on the ground that no
one is paying much attention too. You see much destruction with broken objects
scattered across the ground.
Feel:
I think that the way no one is showing much emotion towards the fallen soldier shows
how war desensitizes someone. If someone just died in the regular world, it would
attract lots of attention and many people would be having emotional breakdowns.
However in this painting the expressions are indifferent. It’s as if the dead guy is simply
not even there.
Connections:
It just shows how much war desensitizes people. Like Paul when he basically learned to
stop hesitating to kill people. He began to just do it. It’s also like when they use the
bodies to help shield themselves. Death becomes normal.
Painter Two:Oscar Laske
See: You see the fighting among people. Death. There is a trolley overturned in the
road, a building on fire, and lots more destruction.
Feel: Destruction. War is complete and total destruction. There is chaos, violence, and
death. It’s a rather morbid painting.
Connections: I think this image really captures the truth in war. In war, villages are
invaded and many are destroyed. This shows how much destruction there really is.
2. Name: Tara Pawlyk
Connections: Gas was commonly used during the time as a method of attack. So it
displays a lot of truth in showing the men in the gas masks.
Painter Two:Frank Brangwin
See: There is so much going on in this picture. You see the men running and fighting.
Some are dying and being crushed. There’s what appears to be a tank. Smoke
everywhere from all the gun fire and dirt being disturbed.
Feel: The theme of the picture is chaos. There is a lot of violence and many soldiers
running for cover. The expressions of many are fearful and panicked.
Connections: This represents the chaos that is really in war. In many of the propaganda
posters the government made it look like war was all fun and games and nothing bad
every happened. This however shows the truth in war.
The War Underground
Painter One:Félix Valloton
See: There are two men in the darkness coming after the one innocent looking soldier
who is in the light.
Feel: It looks like a propaganda poster to me. It makes it look like one soldier is innocent
while the enemy is the one attacking. It doesn’t show the balance of war. In real war,
both sides are guilty of killing. The picture displays it as though there is only one side to
blame, the opposing side.
Connections: It shows how government try and lighten the mood of the war so they can
more easily recruit people.
Painter Two:
See:
Feel:
Connections:
3. Name: Tara Pawlyk
Feel: I think this shows what was on the mens mind. He has a picture of home along
with pictures of weapons.
Connections: It just shows the weapons and how they were set up during the war
Painter Two:
See:
Feel:
Connections:
The Trenches
Painter One: Fernand Léger
See: There are soldiers sitting around a table playing cards
Feel: This gives a lighter mood than previous art pieces
Connections: This is a good example of what the men do during their free time
Painter Two:
See:
Feel:
Connections:
Assignment: After you have collected your thoughts and feelings, use the words
you wrote down to create a concrete poem. Choose an Image that you want
your poem to be the shape of, and then arrange the words in the format of the
image.