Early Modern Blog

 Early Modern Era and the Influence of WWI



The Ending Of War, Starting Home, by Horace Pippin (1930-1933). 



    The Ending of War, Starting Home, was created by Horace Pippin during the Early Modern Era. He made this painting after coming back from war. He started to paint to cope with losing his right arm. He made this piece in 1930-1933 and it shows the image of war through his memories.
    "The artist started working on this painting nearly fifteen years after he returned to the United States from serving in France in World War I. Wounded in his right arm while fighting as a member of one of four African American regiments to see combat, Pippin had turned to painting to help his process of recovery. This image of combat, fear, and surrender condenses terrifying episodes he had documented in his wartime journals—events he later said “brought out all the art in me.” The frame, which shows weaponry and helmets, further heightens the poignancy of Pippin’s depiction of the human dimension of war."



Guernica, by Pablo Picasso (1937)


    Guernica was created by Pablo Picasso in his home in Paris in 1937. "An accurate depiction of a cruel, dramatic situation, Guernica was created to be part of the Spanish Pavilion at the International Exposition in Paris in 1937. Pablo Picasso’s motivation for painting the scene in this great work was the news of the German aerial bombing of the Basque town whose name the piece bears, which the artist had seen in the dramatic photographs published in various periodicals, including the French newspaper L'Humanité. Despite that, neither the studies nor the finished picture contain a single allusion to a specific event, constituting instead a generic plea against the barbarity and terror of war. The huge picture is conceived as a giant poster, testimony to the horror that the Spanish Civil War was causing and a forewarning of what was to come in the Second World War." 
    Although this piece wasn't about World War I, it still shows the idea of a war and what is to come from it. I think this piece is a rather interesting one with a lot of different people. 


The Menin Road, by Paul Nash (1918).


    The Menin Road was created by Paul Nash in a small room in Gower Street, London in February 1919. It shows a first world war battlefield. You can see the aftermath of a war in his piece. Although I cannot tell what is fully going on in the piece at first glance, I think this is a rather important work of art for history. The Menin Road is currently at the Imperial War Museum in London. 
    "The Menin Road depicts a landscape of flooded shell craters and trenches while tree stumps, devoid of any foliage, point towards a sky full of clouds and plumes of smoke, bisected by shafts of sunlight resembling gun barrels. Two soldiers at the centre of the picture attempt to follow the, almost, unrecognisable road but appear to be trapped by the landscape.[1][6] Nash composed the picture in three broad horizontal strips. The foreground is filled with shell craters and debris, which block access to the road in the middle of the picture. The only possible path, to the side of one of the mud pools, is blocked by a fallen board. Across the centre of the picture, shell holes punch into the road at regular intervals, while debris further breaks up the road, as do the shadows from a line of trees alongside it. Beyond the trees, the battlefield stretches to the horizon, with a wood of stunted trees on the right hand side and to the left a series of seven zigzag streams, that also fail to reach the horizon and escape.[5][4] Nash came to consider this painting to be his finest work."


Conclusion
     The works of art chosen, show either influence of World War I, or just a war in general. Each piece has it's own way to show the aftermath in different ways. I think overall that I would own each of these if I had the chance too. They cause such emotions, for instance joy, after the war ended, but also sadness for all the damages done. 


References Cited

Leal, Paloma Esteban. “Guernica.” Museoreinasofia.es, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 5 Apr. 2019, www.museoreinasofia.es/en/collection/artwork/guernica.

Flair, Creative. “All about the Ending of the War, Starting Home by Horace Pippin.” Creative Flair Blog - Hub of Creative Reads, News, Insights, Creative Flair, 19 Mar. 2023, blog.creativeflair.org/all-about-the-ending-of-the-war-starting-home-by-horace-pippin/. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

‌“The Ending of the War, Starting Home, 1930 - 1933 - Horace Pippin - WikiArt.org.” Www.wikiart.org, www.wikiart.org/en/horace-pippin/the-ending-of-the-war-starting-home-1933.

‌“The Menin Road (Painting).” Wikipedia, 2 Nov. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Menin_Road_(painting).

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Comments

  1. Kylee C.April 8, 2025 at 11:50 PM

    It's so interesting how art was affected by wars and how people portrayed life afterwards in their artwork. To see the realism of the aftermath and the symbolism of the political and economical events during these times is so interesting, especially when relating it to the current political state of the world. It is also interesting how different the art style were getting during this time, I feel like all of the tragedy from war brought people together and helped expand the range of art styles.

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  2. Savannah FlemingApril 16, 2025 at 6:26 AM

    What stands out to me is how each piece conveys strong emotions. For example, Pippin's "The Ending of War, Starting Home" appeals to me because it reflects his personal struggle, and his art captures both pain and hope. The theme is clear in every piece as Nash's "The Menin Road" shows the destruction and how it affects soldiers. Each piece seems to highlight a mix of chaos and desire for peace. I really enjoyed your post!

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