World War One Art

 Tunnellers by Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson  

    Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson was an English painter who lived from 1889-1946; this era of early modern history was composed primarily of significant international instability as the World Wars took over the focus of nearly all states throughout the world. Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson was largely inspired by the onset of World War I and the dark times humanity faced in the wake of modern war techniques, including chemical weapons and trench warfare (Art as Influence and Response: A First Look at *World War I and the Visual Arts* - the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Nevinson joined the Friends’ Ambulance Unit and tended both French and English wounded soldiers and served as a volunteer ambulance driver until his health forced him to stop, though he would continue to volunteer and participate in war efforts as much as possible from home (Tate).

    Tunnellers was painted by C.R.W. Nevinson in 1916; it features a (presumably) military subject walking through a trench wearing a gas mask and protective equipment (“Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson - Tunnellers - the Metropolitan Museum of Art”). This painting utilizes virtues of realism to depict the scene and romanticism/surrealism to create a dark/dramatic war scene. The dark colors and extreme contrasts make the subject stand out against the dark scene. Nevinson also created extreme textures in his paintings that create a layer of harshness/realism. One of the more striking aspects of this painting is the extreme sense of isolation and almost otherworldly depiction of life during the War; this painting depicts an environment too harsh for human life without assistance from technology and subterranean warfare. Nevinson’s utilization of artistic elements to highlight the harshness and isolation of wartime environments helps to share the otherwise unimaginable War with a broader audience. 

A Battery Shelled by Percy Wyndham Lewis 

    Percy Wyndham Lewis was a versatile British artist who ranged from works of literature to painting. Lewis lived from November 18th, 1882, until March 7th, 1957; his life span placed him in the center of the World War eras and the chaotic geopolitical turmoil that followed (Tate, “Wyndham Lewis 1882–1957 - Tate”). Lewis became part of a Canadian project during the onset of World War I that would have him paint scenes from the battlefront despite being primarily interested in a representative rather than realist style of painting (Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza). Lewis’ representative style included abiding by the virtues of expressionism and cubism; these virtues were set aside during the initial onset of World War I but eventually returned to being a fundamental part of Lewis’ works of art (“Wyndham Lewis Paintings, Bio, Ideas”). 

    A Battery Shelled by Percy Wyndham Lewis was part of a series of commissioned works by the British War Memorial Committee, set up by the Ministry of Information early in 1918 (“A Battery Shelled”). This piece depicts three German gunmen calmly looking over a landscape of destruction following a shelling of a town/target; the newly introduced accuracy of modern weapons is depicted as extensively destructive, and the German gunners are purposely depicted as desensitized/indifferent toward the extensive destruction (“A Battery Shelled”). Lewis utilized impressionist techniques to convey a unique collision between the worst of humanity and the jaded nature of War. A Battery Shelled shows elements of symbolism to convey the lack of humanity in the chaos and the degrading state of reality. Similarly, Lewis utilizes shapes and colors that convey a sense of despair, neglect, and hopelessness through washed-out tones and “uncomfortable” scenes. 

The Field of Passchendaele by Paul Nash

    Paul Nash was a British painter who lived from May 11th, 1889, until July 11th, 1946; he specialized in a modern style of landscape painting (Tate, “Paul Nash 1889–1946”). Nash focused heavily on surrealist paintings, photography, and history, which led to his interest in creating wartime paintings highlighting the dramatic landscapes unfolding in the First World War (Tate, “Paul Nash 1889–1946”). Nash was stationed in Belgium following the expanding First World War after being enlisted into the British Army; Nash remained stationed in Belgium until being injured in a fall (Tate, “Paul Nash 1889–1946”). After the injury, Nash sought to become an official War artist and utilize his skills in history and surrealist painting to share the extensive destruction entailed by the onset of World War I. 

    The Field of Passchendaele was painted by Paul Nash around 1917; this painting is considered a modernized landscape painting (Imperial War Museums). The Field of Passchendaele utilized styles of cubism and featured many elements of symbolism to portray the harshness and extensively destructive landscapes of War (Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums). This piece utilizes a dark, devoid color pallet to depict the extensive lifelessness and loss entailed by War; Nash was also recognized and praised for his use of shapes to represent death (in particular, dead soldiers on the battlefield) (Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums). Nash’s use of colors and shapes in this painting reinforces the hopelessness and loss Nash sought to convey to an audience outside of the War.

The Connection

    All these pieces were heavily influenced by the outbreak and expansive reach of World War I. Modern warfare brought a level of destruction never before seen due to the emergence of modern warfare techniques and an increased connection between individual states. Global conflict was conceptually unheard of before the outbreak of World War I, as were the alien-like landscapes that followed the War. 

    Nash, Lewis, and Nevinson all created unique, modern interpretations of landscape paintings that were heavily influenced by or even commissioned for the efforts of World War I. These paintings represent the extreme conditions humanity faced during the First World War and how extensively influential the War was in both the arts and within the minds of communities engaged in the War directly or through indirect means such as media. Nash, Lewis, and Nevinson also represent a critical step toward the emergence of modern wartime propaganda by depicting dramatic scenes that convey the necessity and cruciality of public support for war efforts. Art often reflects the socially constructed norms of the period in which they were created; Nash, Lewis, and Nevinson all highlight the horrific norms that would become established in the First World War and expanded in the emergence of the Second World War.

Work Cited

Art as Influence and Response: A First Look at *World War I and the Visual Arts* - the Metropolitan Museum of Art. www.metmuseum.org/articles/world-war-i-and-the-visual-arts-introduction.

“A Battery Shelled.” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/16688.

“---.” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/16688.

“---.” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/16688.

“Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson | Tunnellers | the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1916, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/746147.

“---.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1916, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/746147.

“The Field of Passchendaele.” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/20075.

Imperial War Museums. “British Art of the First World War.” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources/british-art-of-the-first-world-war.

Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. “Lewis, Percy Wyndham.” Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/lewis-percy-wyndham.

Tate. “Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson 1889–1946 | Tate.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/christopher-richard-wynne-nevinson-1697.

---. “Paul Nash 1889–1946 | Tate.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/paul-nash-1690.

---. “Wyndham Lewis 1882–1957 | Tate.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/wyndham-lewis-1502.

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. “Paul Nash, Artist of Powerful First World War Paintings | Tyne and Wear Archives & Museums Blog.” Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Blog | Blog, 29 Sept. 2020, blog.twmuseums.org.uk/paul-nash-artist-of-powerful-first-world-war-paintings.

“Wyndham Lewis Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/amp/artist/lewis-wyndham.