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The First World War has been examined in many programs from a political and military point of view but it has rarely been seen through the eyes of painters.
The period 1914-1918 was a virtual catalogue of art movements: Impressionists, Expressionists, Realists, Cubists and Futurists all contributed images from the battlefields which were both accurate and intense. These styles often reflected avant garde movements in a number of countries, particularly Britain, France, Germany and Russia. The list of painters includes Braque, Derain, Bonnard, Chagall, Kandinsky, Hitler, Otto Dix, Schiele, Picasso, Augustus John, Wyndham Lewis, David Jones and Stanley Spencer.
Before 1914 pictures of soldiers were patriotic or heroic. They were subjects of national pride but this war was different. It was mechanized. Technology enabled armies to kill each other on an industrial scale and the levels of destruction were unprecedented in history.
This unique documentary shows how the First World War transformed the world of art and changed the way images of war are conveyed.
