In 1914, after a career painting the rich and famous, he became a war artist. For the next 4 years he showed what the Great War really looked like.
war artist
Royal portraits and history of the rich and famous – and a single gruesome work showing an episode now considered by some to be genocide.
A century ago, the Great War ended. Here are some great paintings from war artists like John Singer Sargent and Paul Nash, and others like Lovis Corinth.
Paris was under siege from September 1870 to the end of January 1871. Painters commanded its defenders, and showed its distress.
In the late 19th century, painting was centred on Paris. But in 1870-71, the city was all but destroyed after a long siege, in the Franco-Prussian War. The story told in paintings.
He first painted rural workers, in a distinctive earth palette. Then came the war, which changed everything.
His final series of Landscapes of the Moon and Aerial Flowers are among his most visionary, and refer to much of his previous work, and that of William Blake.
Appointed as a full-time war artist to the RAF, he was expected to paint portraits of aircrew. He had other, much better ideas.
Landscapes influenced by Blake and Palmer, then some of the strongest images of the First World War. The start of a remarkable career.
There’s a lot more to this painting than first meets the eye: a bit of Brueghel, some Leighton, and even some Signorelli.
