ARTS OF THE EARLY MODERN ERA (1900-1939)

 THE INFLUENCE OF WORLD WAR I

World War 1 was fought mainly in Europe from 28^th July 1914 to 11^th November 1918. It was also fought in other continents and the seas but the main war fronts were the Western Europe and Eastern Europe fronts.

The immediate cause of the war was the assassination of FRANZ FERDINAND, the prince and heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The United States of America did not participate in this war in the initial stages. However, it was drawn in due to a number of reasons e.g. Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare which led to the loss of American ships, and the need to protect its interests in Western Europe.

This war greatly influenced the artists of this era (1914-1939) in a number of ways. “Those working in applied and commercial arts also revealed a variety of approaches; some work was commissioned by the government or other organizations to support the war effort and charities, while other propaganda—sometimes the most inflammatory—was independently produced and distributed as periodicals, postcards, and posters in order to boost morale and demean the enemy” JENNIFER FARRELL, 2017.

“Art was seen as the means to convey the righteousness of Britain’s cause, to bear witness to the experience of war, to remember the fallen and provide effective propaganda” IWM.

It is important to also note that the aftermath of the war caused the uprising of nationalistic feelings in Europe especially in Italy and Germany. The dictators of these countries exploited the use of art to foster their nationalistic propaganda. “MUSSOLINI understood that large, public murals painted onto the walls of Fascist-era buildings, with easily understandable iconography (symbolism) could transform architectural spaces and proclaim the state’s political message to the public” DR. LAURIE KALB COSMO.

I have three examples of works done by three different British artists of the early modern era. They were all influenced by the First World War.

1. THE DOCTOR

This was done by C R W NEVINSON in the year 1916. This artist initially supported the war. However, due to his experiences as a medical officer and ambulance driver in France, he denounced his support of the war. “In this painting, he portrays a doctor tending an injured soldier in a makeshift casualty center outside Dunkirk” IWM.

ELEMENT OF COLOR

The red color painted on the buttocks of the bending casualty symbolizes blood. The man is bleeding profusely and the medical personnel are stopping the bleeding. This is the use of color as a symbol. “The awkwardly bent pose of the figure in the background and use of red throughout the painting stresses the terrible human cost of the conflict and its un-heroic nature” IWM.

ELEMENT OF TONE

The face of the seated casualty is painted with a curved line using black ink below the nose. The other whitish area of the faces must have been painted with white gouache. This combination brings about the anguish, pain, and misery that World War 1 soldiers were undergoing through getting wounded and seeing their friends die in combat. This is the use of tone as form.

C R W NEVINSON (1889-1946), the doctor, 1916, oil on canvas, Art.IWM ART 725.

ELEMENT OF LINE

Line as emotion is presented through the dark curved lines drawn on the faces of the casualties using blank ink. They show the desolate nature of the wounded soldiers. A close look at the two men standing with their hands stretchered and looking down on the ones that are being attended to reveals a series of short dark lines on their eyes. They sympathize with the seated guys being attended by the medics.

I really like the history lesson taught through this artwork and I would spend some dollars to have it hung on my living room wall.

2. SHOP FOR MACHINING 15-INCH SHELLS

Painted by ANNA AIRY in Glasgow 1918, this artwork documents the effects that the war was having on factory workers especially women away from the battle fronts. “Anna Airy was commissioned to produce four paintings depicting munitions production and here we see the women producing 15-inch shells for battleships” IWM. The factories shifted from the production of consumer goods to the production of war armaments for the military.

ELEMENT OF LINE

Line as the structure is presented through the vertical lines representing the pillars probably made of iron bars or wood that are erected up. At the top, we see another series of horizontal lines which represent the trusts that lie on the vertical iron bars to support the roof of this workshop that belonged to Singer Manufacturing Company.

ANNA AIRY (1882-1964), shop for machining 15-inch shells: singer manufacturing company, Clydebank, Glasgow, 1918, oil on canvas, IWM ART 22/1.

ELEMENT OF PATTERN

The cylindrical-shaped objects with a sharp edge on one end and a hollow space on another end (warheads) an examples of patterns as repetition in this artwork. There are several in this painting even though they don’t look exactly identical. It is the almost similar shapes and pattern that brings about repetition.

ELEMENT OF TEXTURE

There is the physical texture in how the artist paints the shell heads with smooth brush strokes to bring the appearance of fine shiny texture. The cylindrical metallic warheads appear brighter and with a smooth surface. This is a wonderful piece of art.

I don’t like war armaments, so I am not taking this painting anywhere!

 

3. VOLUNTARY LAND WORKERS IN A FLAX FIELD (1919).

RANDOLPH SCHWABE (1885-1948), voluntary land workers in a flax field, Podington, Northamptonshire, 1919, oil on canvas, IWM ART 2288.

“In this painting, women are shown collecting flax which was especially important in aircraft manufacture” IWM. Once more, this is another art that shows the role of British women in the First World War. They worked in flax farms to collect this important raw material; in order to facilitate the war efforts. “The military’s demands for linen-based products such as tents and webbing were already almost insatiable, and as the size of the air fleet, and aircraft themselves, continued to grow, there was a specific requirement for high-quality ‘aircraft cloth’ to cover wings and airframes” PAUL STAMPER.

ELEMENT OF TEXTURE

The ephemeral texture is visible in the clouds painting behind the pyramid-like structures at the distant back.

The physical texture is presented through the shoe and socks/stockings paintings on the ladies’ feet. They are done with a heavy smearing of the brush.

ELEMENT OF LINE

The artist has used a series of vertical and horizontal lines painted by the use of grey ink to bring about the flax plants being collected by the women from the ground. The dense traceries of lines have the appearance of a rough texture. This is an example of the visual element of the line being used as texture.

ELEMENT OF PATTERN

There is a man-made pattern of pyramid-like structures drawn just behind the women laborers. They are most likely the structures housing these women farm laborers.

This is a wonderful piece of historical artwork especially for the feminist. I like it.

CITATIONS

1.     Dr. Laurie Kalb Cosmo, “Murals and Public Art in 1930s Rome,” in Smarthistory, March 11, 2021, accessed November 1, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/murals-1930s-fascist-rome/.

2.     Imperial War Museums(IWM), “British Art of the First World War,” Friday 8, December 2017, https://www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources/british-art-of-the-first-world-war

3.     Jennifer Farrell, “Art as Influence and Response: A First Look at World War I and the Visual Arts,” October 16, 2017, https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2017/world-war-i-and-the-visual-arts-introduction

4.     Paul Stamper, “‘Britain needed airplanes’: First World War Flax-Growing at Podington, Bedfordshire (UK),” November 21, 2019, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14662035.2019.1685830