Role War Plays in Art - Research Paper Example

Role War Plays in Art There have been changes in the forms of representations that different artists have placed on the different depictions that are conveyed on war a change that has been gradual due to the changes in the forms of art. There is a difference between the 16th century art and the 21st century art depicting war since there has been a shift in the ways and forms of presenting the artwork by different artists. In the 16th century art was only depicted through sculptures and paintings however, this has changed with the representation through photographs also becoming part of art that can be used to deliver a message from the war. However, one the main thematic concerns that are delivered through the artwork either past or present has not changed with the main themes being glory, heroism, drama, suffering and sadness. These emotions emanate from the audience as they look at the different pieces of art and the artist should ensure that they draw on these main themes when working on art on war. War therefore plays a very important part in art as it helps the artists showcase the different emotions and themes for a particular war or time through their works of art for the present and future generations which is the main purpose of artwork. This paper examines different works of art and analyses the main theme depicted by the works, the overall effect for the audience, the visual elements that the artwork presents, and the historical significance of the art. One of the most famous portraits is that done by Jacques-Louis David in 1802 of Napoleon that depicts Napoleon as a war hero and a savior of his people. The photos main theme is to show the heroic nature of Napoleon and also his manly aspect which the artist compounds together to form one major hero in the portrait (Keegan 89). In the portrait Napoleon is on a White Horse that is sitting on its hind legs and is directing other members of his battalion to charge. There is a mountain and Napoleon is sitting on the bottom side also preparing to charge upwards to what can be assumed to be enemy battalions that are charging downwards. His large red cloak swirls as it is being blown by the wind and he is holding on to the horse that is already sitting on its hind legs with one arm. This shows him as heroic since he is the one who is prepared to lead the charge and is in front of all the other soldiers as he looks behind to issue instructions. The fact that he also wears a crown to symbolize that he was the leader then also shows how heroic and courageous Bonaparte was. There is also a manly aspect as one of the themes depicted since he shows remarkable strength and also the attire that he has put on from his boots to the trousers identify him as a great and able man. The overall effect to the viewer is that Napoleon was an able-bodied well -structured individual that led his army from the front (Stokstad and David 45). The portrait has a unique way of presenting its visual effects since it gives the viewer a feel of the visual aspects and pictorial elements that existed in 1802 and how the man himself would have looked like through how well the artist has illustrated him in the pictorial. The historical significance of the pictorial is to identify the time when Napoleon Bonaparte was the King of France and had dominated majority of Europe conquering all the armies that opposed him. The artists aimed to show Napoleon as their main hero at the time and that France was the main power in Europe and also that how he had managed to conquer majority of Europe with his armies. In 1915, George Paul Leroux Esparges: Soldiers Burying Their Comrades in the Moonlight is a photo of soldiers burying their comrades who had died in war. The picture has the theme of sadness as the soldiers try to salvage the messages of their comrades to their loved ones while also saying the last prayer to those that are to be buried. It is a picture that beams sadness and especially because the man that is at the very front of the picture is a dead man that the other two soldiers are trying to say the last prayer with the soldiers holding on to them. The fact that the man is not even dressing in army uniform makes the pictorial beam more sadness and the tattered clothes makes it even more painful to the audience. There is another soldier who also appears dead at the right of the pictorial with the head down shows just how many people have died and the devastation that the soldiers faced in the war. The audience is heart stricken by the way the people are digging graves and the images of the dead people that are clear from the way the artist presents the images. There are also other crosses that can be seen from a distance that exemplify the sad nature of the war and the number of lives that were lost in the war (Stokstad and Michael 90). The artist has used visual effects effectively to age the pictorial to the time that it was done. The soldiers and their tools in addition to the scenery are evident of the age and time that the pictorial was taken. The pictorial was made in 1915 in the First World War when the soldiers brutally killed each other. In George Rodger’s 1945 photograph, a boy walks by corpses at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where soldiers and prisoners were killed in their thousands. The picture has a theme of sadness and the child walking by the corpses exemplifies just how sad the artist wants the picture to be (Stokstad and David 105). The bodies of many women, men and children are all over as the boy marauds through all of them showing just how sad the situation is in the time. The visual effects and how the artist uses the different elements of the bodies and the child are well thought out by the artist. The artist also uses a black and white text as the color of the picture to show the grave nature of the situation in the picture and exemplify just how sad and dire the situation was at the time. The picture was taken at the time when the Nazi troops were parading the camps and the prisoners that were in the region were all murdered. The Nazis were then ruling the most parts of Germany and some parts of Europe as well. Artwork has been used as the main tool to show the emotions and the themes that have been in the past helping to preserve the history especially of war for another event to hopefully not happen in future. Works Cited Keegan, John. A History of Warfare. New York: Alfred A. Knopf :, 2012. Print. Stokstad, Marilyn, and David Cateforis. Art History. 2nd ed. New York: Abrams, 2002. Print. Stokstad, Marilyn, and Michael Cothren. Art History. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print. Read More