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Oil Painting During Times of Tragedy
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on NYC and Washington yesterday, it becomes an artist's second nature to use painting as an outlet. Emotions of grief, anxiety, and loss associated with such a horrific tragedy are similar to those felt in times of war. I invite all oil painters to submit their paintings, using the procedure outlined in the bulletin on the front page of Oil Painting at Suite 101, that express the angst being felt by people all over America at this time.
In the meantime, this article will talk about situations in history where the devastation of war and violence can be felt still many years later through the expression of oil painters.
Pablo Picasso painted probably the most famous painting depicting war in 1937, entitled Guernica, which was based upon an attack made on a small defenseless city of Guernica. On April 26, 1937, at 4:30 in the afternoon, the German Air Force, with help from Italy and the fascist national party in Spain, unleashed tons of explosives on Guernica, a small city in the Basque region of Spain. This attack occurred during the heat of the Spanish Civil War that raged from 1936 to 1939.
A popular Spanish painter of the time, Picasso was asked to produce a piece of art to decorate the Spanish Pavilion in the Paris World Fair in 1937. Responding to the attack by means of his painting, he created a large mural depicting the horror of the bombing of Guernica that he titled Guernica.
The painting has become a fascination not only for the emotion it portrays, but also for the symbolism and hidden meanings throughout the massive mural. This Link provides more information on the painting, focusing on the secret images within the mural and how they allow the painting to delve even further into the horrors of war.
The German Expressionists were known to express, in some ways more vividly than others, the times of war in Germany in the 1930's. From the paintings that survived in Germany and from other European countries, there are undoubtedly influences creeping through all kinds of art created during World War II. Otto Dix was an expressionist from Germany whose paintings spoke loudly of the terror of war and the living conditions of the time. In The Seven Deadly Sins, painted in 1933, Dix unmistakably portrays gruesome symbols of horror dealing with cardinal sins.
The copyright of the article Oil Painting During Times of Tragedy in Oil Painting is owned by Susan A. Wenz-Denise. Permission to republish Oil Painting During Times of Tragedy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
There have also been many American painters who have documented times of war through oil painting. This Link from the U.S. Army shows examples of paintings depicting American battles from Yorktown to the Persian Gulf. It includes a painting by Mario Acevedo, 1991, called Night Attack portraying the Persian Gulf.
I encourage all artists to express their emotions, following the horrible tragedies fallen on America yesterday, through any type of art medium. Beyond the benefits of self-expression as a therapeutic device, it is our responsibility as artists to record the grief of the American people at this time.
My heart goes out to the friends and families of all Americans suffering the effects of this senseless tragedy.
Susan A. Wenz-Denise
from suite 101
In the meantime, this article will talk about situations in history where the devastation of war and violence can be felt still many years later through the expression of oil painters.
Pablo Picasso painted probably the most famous painting depicting war in 1937, entitled Guernica, which was based upon an attack made on a small defenseless city of Guernica. On April 26, 1937, at 4:30 in the afternoon, the German Air Force, with help from Italy and the fascist national party in Spain, unleashed tons of explosives on Guernica, a small city in the Basque region of Spain. This attack occurred during the heat of the Spanish Civil War that raged from 1936 to 1939.
A popular Spanish painter of the time, Picasso was asked to produce a piece of art to decorate the Spanish Pavilion in the Paris World Fair in 1937. Responding to the attack by means of his painting, he created a large mural depicting the horror of the bombing of Guernica that he titled Guernica.
The painting has become a fascination not only for the emotion it portrays, but also for the symbolism and hidden meanings throughout the massive mural. This Link provides more information on the painting, focusing on the secret images within the mural and how they allow the painting to delve even further into the horrors of war.
The German Expressionists were known to express, in some ways more vividly than others, the times of war in Germany in the 1930's. From the paintings that survived in Germany and from other European countries, there are undoubtedly influences creeping through all kinds of art created during World War II. Otto Dix was an expressionist from Germany whose paintings spoke loudly of the terror of war and the living conditions of the time. In The Seven Deadly Sins, painted in 1933, Dix unmistakably portrays gruesome symbols of horror dealing with cardinal sins.
The copyright of the article Oil Painting During Times of Tragedy in Oil Painting is owned by Susan A. Wenz-Denise. Permission to republish Oil Painting During Times of Tragedy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
There have also been many American painters who have documented times of war through oil painting. This Link from the U.S. Army shows examples of paintings depicting American battles from Yorktown to the Persian Gulf. It includes a painting by Mario Acevedo, 1991, called Night Attack portraying the Persian Gulf.
I encourage all artists to express their emotions, following the horrible tragedies fallen on America yesterday, through any type of art medium. Beyond the benefits of self-expression as a therapeutic device, it is our responsibility as artists to record the grief of the American people at this time.
My heart goes out to the friends and families of all Americans suffering the effects of this senseless tragedy.
Susan A. Wenz-Denise
from suite 101