Impact of an Era

 

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War impacted many artists as they captured their feelings and emotions differently World War II had a big impact for many artists. Each displays differently. I will be showing the impacts of war by three different artists. The inspirations directly related and how paintings were created before the war which soon impacted World War II.The styles that came out during this time of expressionism, surrealism, and more. You can feel all the emotions in the works that were put out.  

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The Charnel House was created by Pablo Picasso in 1944-1945 but it went unfinished as an oil and charcoal painting. He resided in Paris during World War II.  The size is 199.9cm x250.1cm and is located in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Pablo's works became more political during the war this painting was an anti-war statement, it was inspired by a photograph from the Concentration camps of bodies lying piled together. Noticed in this work is line work, the lines of bodies and faces, He used Value limited to only gray tones and black which sets the mood of this painting to feel grim and sad which fits the emotions of that time, This painting is very basic which I like it's using an expressionistic type of style which can be basic but the most abstract part of art. In 1944 Picasso reportedly stated, "I did not paint the war, because I am not one of those artists who go looking for a subject like a photographer, but there is no doubt that the war is there in the pictures which I painted then."(Stern,Fred) when I read this quote it made me think not all artists paint the exact war but the effects that the war can have in different ways and that's why so many artists pick different styles to express their view of something, he is expressing the feeling of grief and sadness in an expressionistic way without color to really feel the emotions of this painting. 

Guernica was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1937 as one of his large paintings of 349.3x776.cm it was painted in his home in pairs as a response to the bombing of Guernica in the Basque country in northern Spain by Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. This painting was inspired by the Spanish War but eventually started being interpreted in a different way when it was displayed in a museum. Even though this was not directly related to World War II it soon became a symbol for the after-effects of the war. It was displayed as the first anti-war symbol that became popular and the powers that the war symbolized. The painting represents death and dying on the left is a woman holding her dead child, bending her is a partial head of a white bull. Beneath her is a wounded or dead man, in the center stands a scared horse, and then on the right are three women one looking at the light of the scene, the other holding a lamp and the last woman looks to be in a burning building screaming. Over the years this painting has been interpreted in many ways showing the grief and sadness of war and it eventually ties into the effects of war,He uses Gray and black and white tones in his paintings which gives the emotions of sadness but also stress that is happening around them even though a lot is going on. he uses shapes to depict people and animals around in almost a 3d and 2d way, the use of space between the shapes he does not let go to waste it makes everything look dimensional along with the figures to make an illusion.I like this painting even though it is very graphic and a lot is going on,It makes you think and reflect on the impacts of what war does to you and how it is perceived even though it is not your typical painting it is a very surrealism style to be able to feel the emotions of what the artist is trying to portray.

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Henry Moore created a series of coal minors this is one of them called A Miner Pushing a Tub, created in 1942. His sketch was made on paper. He was inspired by the underground shelters in London while World War II was happening. The image above represents Wheldale Colliery in Castleford in Moores's hometown where his father was employed. The reasoning for these was to show the physical toll and emotion that the miners had to endure, he knew that even in the harsh environment it was normal for humans to do this. When looking at this you can feel the toll on the person he is sketching you can see the texture and stroke of each mark he is making giving form to this sketch by seeing the tub and the character pushing the tub the only color is the brown tub which feels like it signifies something of importance and that was the first thing that I noticed when I looked at this. This fits in with World War II because it shows the outcome of what miners had to endure during the war, showing that people were pushed to their limits. Looking at this I feel the grief and tiredness of the worker. 

Woman and Children in the Tube was made in 1940 by Henry Moore, This was inspired by Moore going home one night by tube to see people sheltering from the raid in Belsize Park underground station. He drew his memory of the people huddled in the tube when he got back to his home. This shows the impacts of women and children hiding in whatever place they can to feel safe. This is a definition of surrealism in art which was popular during the war. The impact that artists show this was one of the twenty-eight sketches that he made in the series. Moore put what he saw into a simple picture using mostly line work and form showing the people huddled together and holding each other close. When I look at this I can feel the sense of being scared not knowing what is happening while war is going on just above them just trying to protect children. I like the simplicity of this piece the most because something so simple can hold so much emotion and description. War affects everyone so differently and each artist's view of war even though not directly stated can feel it within the works that they create. 

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Edward Ardizzone was part of the war as a war artist he created what he saw around him above he created The Wehrmacht, May 1945, which he created in 1945 this is showing injured German Soldiers walking, with a few dragging carts behind them with belongings while two rest on the side of the road. This is more personal as the artist was directly in the war, this to him was everyday life a realistic reality. Looking at this the color he uses is a lot of green and yellows making it feel really gloomy but a less cartoon and shapes style you can actually see the figures in this. I like this it makes it feel mysterious and wanting to know what happened to them. The emotion is still very gloomy but you can see the defeat of the soldiers. that's what brought my attention to this. 

 

Edward Ardizzone created In the Shelter in 1940  he captured the interior of a shelter the London Blitz with a couple standing up sleeping and a mother holding her child on the ground. you. Looking at this there is a lot of texture in the clothing and line work outlining the people, the emotion of this gives a tired feeling and doing the best they can. This is a capture of everyday life during this time frame, a raw moment that is being captured during a horrific time. I like this for the raw moment of what is happening and what must have been going through their heads in that moment of being able to catch just a little bit of sleep. 

Bibliography 

“Women and Children in the Tube.” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/19450. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

“IWM Collections.” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/collections. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

“Edward Ardizzone.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Feb. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Ardizzone.

“The Wehrmacht, May 1945.” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/713. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

“In the Shelter - Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving (CBE, RA) - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/asset/in-the-shelter-ardizzone-edward-jeffrey-irving-cbe-ra/PAFiLr9pY0wY0w?hl=en. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

Stern, Fred. “Price Database.” Artnet.Com Magazine Features - Picasso and the War Years, www.artnet.com/Magazine/features/stern/stern2-25-99.asp. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

“The Charnel House.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Nov. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Charnel_House.

“Guernica (Picasso).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Apr. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(Picasso).

“Guernica by Pablo Picasso (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/cubism-early-abstraction/cubism/a/picasso-guernica. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.