Early Modern Era

Depictions of World War 1 During the Early Modern Era

The early modern era was an era of art that ranged from 1900 to 1939. These pieces of art were completed by many different artists. Despite this, whether pictures or paintings, they were created to convey things from a small selection of different subjects. Most of the art during this time was created to depict certain feelings about World War 1 or the Great Depression, while other pieces of art were created so that African Americans would be seen as equals. The the art from the early modern era was also often used to show that there had been innovations in science and technology. Throughout this blog, you will be able to see some of the different types of art that were created to depict some of the scenes, as well as some of the feelings that were had about World War 1.

Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas:

Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas is an etching that was completed by Otto Dix in 1924, in the country of Germany. Dix was a German soldier, so he was able to experience "modern warfare like trench combat, poison gas, and air bombing." (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2022). With everything that he experienced, he decided to create many different etchings about some of the things that happened during World War 1. This etching, as explained by the title, is a group of Germans who are charging through a cloud of poisonous gas amid a war. I think Dix did an excellent job on his etching, where he was able to have quite a few good aspects incorporated into it. I like this etching because it is a good resemblance of some of the rough times that the soldiers had to go through during the war, where they, at times, would have to charge through an open area filled with poisonous gas so that they could get to the enemies without being shot and killed. I like the painting, but I would not personally want to own a copy of it, since it is depressing, as it gives the thought of death. I think this would be a good etching to have at a memorial for World War 1. It is not a depiction of something that happened in real life, but it is a good representation of what probably happened quite a bit during World War 1. 

Line

Otto Dix did a good job of conveying emotions in his etching, by using lines. He used jagged lines to depict the barbed wire in the etching, to create turmoil and anxiety since the people feel this way as they are running through poisonous gas. As they are running to battle, they are hoping that they are going to be able to survive. On the other hand, I believe that Dix created the German helmets with curved lines to show ease, as there are going to be the people at ease with fighting another fight, as they have a lot of self-ego, as well as a bunch of experience.

Shape

Otto Dix was also able to use certain shapes in his etching to express certain things. He created the gas mask canisters by using circles, while he also used ellipses to create the eye slots in the gas masks, to create a sense of continuous movement. He mainly did this so we could further know that they are running forwards, but it is also used, so we can know that the Germans are moving from city to city, as they are fighting against the other countries.

Color

Otto Dix uses color in his etching so that it looks more realistic. There are a few different spots in which Dix uses lighter colors to depict light, but it is really noticeable on the helmet of the man holding the grenade. The light that is depicted on the guy's helmet helps us to know that his helmet is shiny and smooth. The light is being reflected off of that one spot of the helmet because that portion of the helmet is directly facing the sun. This is used so that we can know that the helmet is round and that there is a third dimension to the etching.

On the Trail of the Hun - St. Mihiel Drive:

On the Trail of the Hun - St. Mihiel Drive, is a watercolor and gouache drawing that was completed by William James Aylward in 1918, in the country of France (National Museum of American History 2022). Aylward made this painting, as well as many others since he was hired by the United States to be an official war artist, where he painted some of the different aspects of World War 1 (National Museum of American History 2022). I am not very fond of the style that was used for this painting, because it looks sort of blurry. I do like it, however, because it is a realistic painting of numerous soldiers, as they are traveling over the grassy plain and the hill. I like this because it shows a little of what the military does, where large numbers of them have to travel for long, tiresome distances with their gear, to get from place to place so that they can fight in a new battle. Aylward used several different techniques in his painting, to make it look better.

Color

William James Aylward uses color in his painting to make it look better. He uses dark colors to create shadows on the front of the big vehicle shown in the middle of the painting, as well as on portions of the soldiers shown to be on the hill, in the lower portion of the painting. Shadows have also been created on the ground to the bottom right of the people at the bottom of the painting so that it looks more realistic. These shadows can help us to know that the sunlight is coming from up and to the left, where it is also set back a little. White is also used on the upper left of a few of the soldier's helmets, to help us know where the sunlight is coming from, since the sunlight is only being reflected off of those spots of the helmets, because of how the helmets were being hit by the sunlight. This also helps us to know that the helmets are shiny and reflective and that the helmets are round, which helps to create a third dimension in the painting.

Lines

William James Aylward uses lines in his painting to portray certain feelings. He uses the bottom of the buildings in the distance to create a horizontal line, which is used to show distance, so we can know that we are looking at a large area of land. He also uses thick lines to depict several things, such as the military sash on the front and the back of the soldiers, depending on whether we are looking at the back or the front of the people, as well as for creating the tires on the vehicles. He also uses a thick line to create the front of the canopy found on the vehicle in the middle of the painting. He uses these thick lines throughout his painting to convey strength, as there is a large group of strong soldiers that we are looking at.

Shape

William James Aylward uses shapes in his painting for several different things. He uses squares and rectangles in his painting to depict strength. The bottom front of the truck in the middle of the painting is made up of a rectangle, as the trunk of it is made up of several squares. He also uses squares and rectangles to create the buildings in the background, which are used to show that the army is strong.

Aylward uses triangles to depict the tops of some of the buildings found in the background, located in the right of the painting so that we will look upwards. He does this so that we can focus on the dark, stormy clouds in the sky. Aylward wants us to notice the clouds, so we can see that all of the soldiers are probably going to start being rained on. He makes sure that we notice this, so we can see some of the challenges that the soldiers go through at times, where they sometimes have to walk in the rain for long periods of time.

House of Ypres:

The House of Ypres is an oil pastel drawing that was completed by A.Y. Jackson in 1917 in Ypres, Belgium. Jackson created this painting so that we could see how cities were being destroyed so much, because of World War 1. I am not very fond of this drawing, because it is not very detailed, but also because it is saddening to see the houses that were destroyed in the war, where there were most likely people in the houses who were killed. I think this drawing should be displayed at a memorial for the people who were killed during World War 1.

Color

A.Y. Jackson did a good job of using color in his drawing to convey emotion. He used dark colors in his drawing to give us a sense of sorrow for the people who lost their homes and their lives during World War 1. He does this by making the clouds darker, as well as by using black and brown to create the image of the house and the ground. He also uses dark colors to depict the destroyed house in the background.

Lines

A.Y. Jackson used specific lines in his drawing to convey different feelings. He used jagged lines in his drawing to convey turmoil since the houses and presumably the city was left in turmoil, where the city was abandoned since it was left to ruins. There are a few destroyed walls that are made up of jagged lines, such as the wall in the middle of the building, the wall that is making up the right wall of the hole that can be seen through the house, since the house was destroyed.

Shape

Similarly to the painting before, by William James Aylward, A.Y. Jackson created triangles to represent the top of the destroyed house, so that we would be drawn to look at the stormy clouds. He wanted us to pay attention to the stormy clouds so that we would feel even sadder about the houses that were destroyed since storms are saddening.

References

Baird, Daniel. “Editorial: Canadian Art and the Great War.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, 1 May 2020, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/art-and-the-great-war.

“On the Trail of the Hun - St. Mihiel Drive.” National Museum of American History, https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_445410.

Smithsonian Institution. “William James Aylward [1875 - 1956].” National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/official-artwork-wwi/aylward.

“Storm Troops Advancing under Gas.” Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2022, https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/220553.

“Stormtroopers Advancing under Gas.” Leicester's German Expressionist Collection, https://www.germanexpressionismleicester.org/leicesters-collection/artists-and-artworks/otto-dix/stormtroopers-advancing-under-gas/.