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Shell Holes near Dontrien Illuminated by Flares, from War

A work made of aquatint on cream laid paper.
© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

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  • A work made of aquatint on cream laid paper.

Date:

1924

Artist:

Otto Dix (German, 1891-1969)
published by Verlag Karl Nierendorf/Galerie Nierendorf (German)

About this artwork

Otto Dix mobilized a wide variety of etching techniques in this series. Here he used a subtle effect of white lines on a black inked plate to alert the viewer to his skill and creativity as an artist. Ironically, that very attention to “art for art’s sake” implied for Dix, through the fetishization of visual effects, a critique of the public’s unexamined embrace of the war. Turning the bombed surface of the battlefield into a visually compelling image quite literally aestheticizes the impact of the destructive capacity of modern warfare.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Otto Dix

Title

Shell Holes near Dontrien Illuminated by Flares, from War

Place

Germany (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1924

Medium

Aquatint on cream laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 29 × 25.4 cm (11 7/16 × 10 in.); Sheet: 47.5 × 35.3 cm (18 3/4 × 13 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Margaret Fisher Endowment

Reference Number

1999.356.4

Copyright

© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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