Early Modern Blog

 

The Early modern era was a significant historical period from the 15th century to the 18th century. The images below are going to show examples of how World War I was evaluated and perceived by Three different artists.

Otto Dix painted  Soldiers' Grave Between the Lines in 1924, It is one of the many paintings in this series.  Dix was an artillery gunner in the trenches at the Somme and on the Eastern Front during World War I. The picture above focused on what was left of the battle and what happened. He described it as dead, dying, bombed-out landscapes and graves. Dix is also known for his harsh depictions of the way and the impacts of society. This gives a historical and personal background since he was part of World War I fitting it into the early modern era. This painting uses a lot of Space with the etchings and the texture of graves and cross, Shapes play a big part in this painting to outline what is being portrayed. When I looked at this painting I felt the darkness of what is being depicted in the scene I first noticed the moon in the background it gives a weary feeling to me. I would own something like this but I would not know where to put it. 

Käthe Kollwitz Created The Parents (Die Eltern) in 1923 in Germany on a woodcut piece as this was a famous form of creating art during this time It is 34.9x42/7 cm. This was influenced by World War I as her son died on the battlefield. This represents the loss and heartache of parents embracing each other and the devastating toll that the war had on people. She created multiple artworks like this in a series, relating to loss influenced by her son dying in the war. This is a personal relationship to the war so its more meaningful looking at these. Linework is used heavily within this painting as black ink is being used to draw this into wood. The form of the people gives it dimension. One thing I noticed when I looked at this I would have never guessed it was two people holding each other it is very hard to tell without the title. this is not one of my favorites, but It relates to the history of the impact of the war. I would not own something like this. This is a historical event that was a big deal to this time, since the modern era was about creating historical background and meaning, the meaning of brokenness and awareness of the war was really captured with the after-effects. 

John Singer Sargent painted Gassed in March 1919 a large oil painting with dimensions of 231cm x611cm located in the Imperial War Museum in London. John is showing the after-effects of mustard gas during the attack of World War I as they walk towards a medic area. Sargent was actually commissioned to paint this scene of the war and the aftermath of the wounded soldiers. Sargent uses Colors yellow and a darker brown to paint this but it brings out the setting of the war. The Value of this is very light even though the image is a sad and heartbreaking scene being created, there was a purpose to the lightness of the scene if it were darker and gloomy I think people would have a different reaction to it. Connecting this to the modern era this is capturing history so this fits well into this era. I would not own something like this in my house. One thing that really stands out to me when I see this painting is the background my eyes instantly gravitate toward it, it makes it feel more ominous.

“The Parents (Die Eltern).” Brooklyn Museum, www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/57360. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.

“Gassed (Painting).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Feb. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gassed_(painting).

Moma | the Collection | Otto Dix. Soldiers’ Grave between the Lines (Soldatengrab Zwischen Den Linien) from the War (Der Krieg). (1924), www.moma.org/s/ge/collection_ge/object/object_objid-87721.html. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.