The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
The War: Seen on the Slope at Cléry-sur-Somme
1924
(German, 1891–1969)
John L. Severance Fund 1995.214
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Catalogue raisonné: Karsch 97
Location: not on view
Description
Otto Dix married technique and expression in these painfully candid images of war from a portfolio of 50 prints. He exploited the corrosive qualities of the acid used to etch the copper plate by promoting a grainy unevenness, which reinforces the physical and moral decay in his horrific yet ordinary scenes of war. Nihilistic and brutal, Dix’s images match the Expressionists’ desire for raw truth. At times, they also call upon traditional iconography, such as the skulls, or memento mori (reminder of death), in Dead Men before the Position near Tahure. Dix called war both “horrible” and “tremendous,” and viewed the artist’s role as that of a witness: “No, artists are not there to reform and convert. They are far too little for that. They must testify.”- Graphic Discontent: German Expressionism on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 14-May 27, 2018).From Rembrandt to Rauschenberg: Recently Acquired Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17-November 26, 2000).
- {{cite web|title=The War: Seen on the Slope at Cléry-sur-Somme|url=false|author=Otto Dix|year=1924|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.214