War Veterans
During the movement of New Objectivity, many artists shifted their focus to typecasting and utilizing their depictions of classes of people to create political satires. This was in response to the increased stratification of classes due to a post World War I Germany that was plagued by the debt from war, inflation, and strife. Germany was truly a society of extremes from politicians to prostitutes. Otto Dix and George Grosz chose to depict and expose this society as it really was, creating dark and humorous scenes with the cool objectivity that gave their movement it’s name.
A type that was commonly used in the works of both Dix and Grosz was the returning war veteran. The two artists were able to create a type for this large group of men because war was their common and unifying experience. Many of the men had entered at a time of extreme nationalism and were sent off, eager to fight for their country. After experiencing the terrors of trench warfare, with new technologies such as the grenade, the survivors returned with missing limbs and a sense of disenchantment. A million-and-a-half war veterans were also cripples, due to advancing medical knowledge, which allowed people to survive despite the severity of their wounds.[1] Returning to Germany, they found that the welfare bureau for disabled war veterans was poorly funded and many were reduced to begging on the streets, which was also a common activity of Dix and Grosz’s types.
Dix and Grosz may have also chosen to depict this type because they had also experienced World War I first hand. Otto Dix had signed up for the war enthusiastically, like many of his fellow Germans, and was discharged due to a wound at the end of the war.[2] George Grosz volunteered as well and was discharged shortly after due to an illness. Towards the end of the war, he was drafted and subsequently discharged for a mental illness.[3] However short or long that the artists had served, they still experienced the horrible conditions and terrifying advancements of war. These experiences directly influenced what they would produce after the war and there was a certain desire to convey what they had seen when they returned. By using a product of the war—war cripples—they create scenes that portray the war and its effect on society.
Otto Dix was affected by the nightmares of war his whole life after serving, and consequently produced a number of works depicting the conditions of warfare, specifically the trenches.[4] We must first grapple with the works of depicting war scenes before we can fully understand the type that Dix and Grosz create for war veterans. The painting The Trench is Dix’s most infamous work of the horrors of war. The Trench can be described as, “a straight, no holds-barred depiction of its [war’s] horrors”.[5] The painting is in fact quite different from many paintings produced during this era, and is almost surrealist and dreamlike (or nightmarish like) in style.[6] However, this style can still be described as New Objectivity because it strives to achieve a realistic portrayal of events, people and experiences. In this case, Dix overly stresses the graphic or grotesque nature of war, which can be compared to works of rape and murder by both Grosz and Dix later in the era.
By starting with a work that retrospectively discusses the war in a New Objective style, we can see the correlation between the war and the aftermath of war. In Skat Players, we can see the continuation of the focus on the ravages on the body. These figures serve as a gruesome reminder of the effects of war, with missing limbs (that were possibly left behind in a scene like The Trench) and prosthetics that do not seem functional for walking, as they blend in with the table legs. As the scene plays out in the back of a bar, Dix juxtaposes the opulence of the nightlife at the time with a reminder of how many people actually lived. In fact, the ravages of war also affected the upper classes, which Dix shows in the painting Café Couple. In Café Couple, a well-dressed man sits with his wife, in furs, at a café. At the forefront of the painting, we see his mismatched glass eye and crooked scar and, only then, do we become aware that this is a veteran of the war.
Cartoons are traditionally preliminary sketches by an artist to be transferred in another medium. They have evolved into simple drawings that are featured in magazines or newspapers, sometimes to make a statement, political or otherwise, through satire. We see the same sort of cartoon style in Dix’s sketches, where he injects irony and biting humor.[7] In paintings, like Skat Players and Café Couple, there is no humor as we are confronted by the stark reality of the conditions of many people in the Weimer Republic.[8] In a sketch like War Cripples, Dix takes these figures from the paintings and places them in situational irony. Only three out of eight feet remain, yet they hobble in front of a shoemaker’s store. As a viewer, we can almost laugh at the absurdity of this scene. However, Dix uses both painting and drawing medium expose the horrendous effects of war.
Grosz utilized the type of the war veteran, but his work became more of a political and social commentary than simply showing the effect of war on the body. His sketches also retain the style and irony of Dix’s sketches. However, he has chosen to place government officials and other citizens within the scene. Instead of a parade of war cripples, we can see the interactions, or lack of interactions, between them and other members of society. Some of the cartoonish quality carries over into his paintings, like in Gray Day where we see his hatred for government officials reflected in a caricatured municipal officer, with crossed eyes, smug smile, and a tight bowler hat.[9]
War veterans and cripples were an important and large part of the typecasting that the artists of New Objectivity created. Whether expressed in a humorous, gruesome, or politically charged way, both Dix and Grosz chose the war veteran to express their own experiences at war, as well as the effects of war on society.
[1] Sabine Rewald. Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s, exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006), 23.
[2] Ibid., 30.
[3] Ibid., 30
[4] Eva Karcher, Otto Dix, (New York: Taschen, 2002), 43.
[5] Keith Hartley, Otto Dix, exh. cat. (London: Tate Gallery Publications), 192.
[6] Ibid., 152.
[7] Ulrich Middeldorf, "Review of: Drawings by George Grosz," College Art Journal 4, no. 1 (1945): 169-70.
[8] Keith Hartley, Otto Dix, exh. cat. (London: Tate Gallery Publications), 77.
[9] Sabine Rewald. Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s, exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006), 57.
A type that was commonly used in the works of both Dix and Grosz was the returning war veteran. The two artists were able to create a type for this large group of men because war was their common and unifying experience. Many of the men had entered at a time of extreme nationalism and were sent off, eager to fight for their country. After experiencing the terrors of trench warfare, with new technologies such as the grenade, the survivors returned with missing limbs and a sense of disenchantment. A million-and-a-half war veterans were also cripples, due to advancing medical knowledge, which allowed people to survive despite the severity of their wounds.[1] Returning to Germany, they found that the welfare bureau for disabled war veterans was poorly funded and many were reduced to begging on the streets, which was also a common activity of Dix and Grosz’s types.
Dix and Grosz may have also chosen to depict this type because they had also experienced World War I first hand. Otto Dix had signed up for the war enthusiastically, like many of his fellow Germans, and was discharged due to a wound at the end of the war.[2] George Grosz volunteered as well and was discharged shortly after due to an illness. Towards the end of the war, he was drafted and subsequently discharged for a mental illness.[3] However short or long that the artists had served, they still experienced the horrible conditions and terrifying advancements of war. These experiences directly influenced what they would produce after the war and there was a certain desire to convey what they had seen when they returned. By using a product of the war—war cripples—they create scenes that portray the war and its effect on society.
Otto Dix was affected by the nightmares of war his whole life after serving, and consequently produced a number of works depicting the conditions of warfare, specifically the trenches.[4] We must first grapple with the works of depicting war scenes before we can fully understand the type that Dix and Grosz create for war veterans. The painting The Trench is Dix’s most infamous work of the horrors of war. The Trench can be described as, “a straight, no holds-barred depiction of its [war’s] horrors”.[5] The painting is in fact quite different from many paintings produced during this era, and is almost surrealist and dreamlike (or nightmarish like) in style.[6] However, this style can still be described as New Objectivity because it strives to achieve a realistic portrayal of events, people and experiences. In this case, Dix overly stresses the graphic or grotesque nature of war, which can be compared to works of rape and murder by both Grosz and Dix later in the era.
By starting with a work that retrospectively discusses the war in a New Objective style, we can see the correlation between the war and the aftermath of war. In Skat Players, we can see the continuation of the focus on the ravages on the body. These figures serve as a gruesome reminder of the effects of war, with missing limbs (that were possibly left behind in a scene like The Trench) and prosthetics that do not seem functional for walking, as they blend in with the table legs. As the scene plays out in the back of a bar, Dix juxtaposes the opulence of the nightlife at the time with a reminder of how many people actually lived. In fact, the ravages of war also affected the upper classes, which Dix shows in the painting Café Couple. In Café Couple, a well-dressed man sits with his wife, in furs, at a café. At the forefront of the painting, we see his mismatched glass eye and crooked scar and, only then, do we become aware that this is a veteran of the war.
Cartoons are traditionally preliminary sketches by an artist to be transferred in another medium. They have evolved into simple drawings that are featured in magazines or newspapers, sometimes to make a statement, political or otherwise, through satire. We see the same sort of cartoon style in Dix’s sketches, where he injects irony and biting humor.[7] In paintings, like Skat Players and Café Couple, there is no humor as we are confronted by the stark reality of the conditions of many people in the Weimer Republic.[8] In a sketch like War Cripples, Dix takes these figures from the paintings and places them in situational irony. Only three out of eight feet remain, yet they hobble in front of a shoemaker’s store. As a viewer, we can almost laugh at the absurdity of this scene. However, Dix uses both painting and drawing medium expose the horrendous effects of war.
Grosz utilized the type of the war veteran, but his work became more of a political and social commentary than simply showing the effect of war on the body. His sketches also retain the style and irony of Dix’s sketches. However, he has chosen to place government officials and other citizens within the scene. Instead of a parade of war cripples, we can see the interactions, or lack of interactions, between them and other members of society. Some of the cartoonish quality carries over into his paintings, like in Gray Day where we see his hatred for government officials reflected in a caricatured municipal officer, with crossed eyes, smug smile, and a tight bowler hat.[9]
War veterans and cripples were an important and large part of the typecasting that the artists of New Objectivity created. Whether expressed in a humorous, gruesome, or politically charged way, both Dix and Grosz chose the war veteran to express their own experiences at war, as well as the effects of war on society.
[1] Sabine Rewald. Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s, exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006), 23.
[2] Ibid., 30.
[3] Ibid., 30
[4] Eva Karcher, Otto Dix, (New York: Taschen, 2002), 43.
[5] Keith Hartley, Otto Dix, exh. cat. (London: Tate Gallery Publications), 192.
[6] Ibid., 152.
[7] Ulrich Middeldorf, "Review of: Drawings by George Grosz," College Art Journal 4, no. 1 (1945): 169-70.
[8] Keith Hartley, Otto Dix, exh. cat. (London: Tate Gallery Publications), 77.
[9] Sabine Rewald. Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s, exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006), 57.