People’s idea of war has changed throughout the course of history; it may seem strange but war used to be something noble and glorious and many times the battles were even praised. It wasn’t till the last decade were war started to develop its extreme evil connotation because of the instruments of mass destruction which came as of a result of the influx of technological advances within the last century. These ideas were represented by the artists of that era by painting about war and its effects. This gallery begins at the 14th century and explores about every century leading up to the present.
Battle of Pavia, Unknown Artist, After 1525, From the collection of: Birmingham Museum of Art
Beginning here in the 14th century you can see that the artist depicted war very largely, it seems like the whole army fits on the canvas. The battle is also very organized as far as the soldiers go.
The storming of the fortress of Stampace in Pisa, Giorgio Vasari, 1568/1571, From the collection of: Palazzo Vecchio Museum
Here we see the same thing as before, very large focus and notice how the soldiers are bulky and glorified in this piece. There are also very few soldiers who are actually depicted violently slain.
Deborah and Barak against Sisera, Circle of Juan de la Corte, 1630 - 1660, From the collection of: Fundación Banco Santander
In this painting the soldiers are still glorified as the previous paintings, this is because of the banners flying freely and look at how many of the soldiers raise their weapons in might and glory.
In this battle we can see the general triumphantly raising his sword as his many soldiers conquer the enemy. Notice how the focus us still about the army as a whole and they're very organized as well.
Battery, Forward! (also known as Bringing Up the Battery, Artillery to the Front, Civil War Battle Scene), William B. T. Trego, 1887, From the collection of: James A. Michener Art Museum
Moving toward the end of the 19th century we see the focus shifting toward small groups of soldiers rather than whole armies. The soldiers are still depicted in a very honorable and glorious manner.
Paths Of Glory, Nevinson, C R W (ARA), 1917, From the collection of: Imperial War Museums
At the end of the first world war we see a great shift in how artists depict war. Now the groups of soldiers are very small like the two fallen solders shown below. War now seems like a great burden.
Over The Top'. 1st Artists' Rifles at Marcoing, 30th December 1917, Nash, John (RA), 1918, From the collection of: Imperial War Museums
Look how the soldiers struggle out of the trench and the ones who have made it walk in a manner that shows just how broken they are. In the trench we can see a few of the slain soldiers.
In the Shelter, Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving (CBE, RA), 1940, From the collection of: Imperial War Museums
Moving to world war two artists focus more on the civilians and how they struggled by war. Here we see people huddled in a bomb shelter. We even see women and children and how even they are affected.
A Child Bomb-Victim Receiving Penicillin Treatment, Gabain, Ethel Leontine, 1944, From the collection of: Imperial War Museums
Here we see how even the most innocent are affected by war. Look how this little girl looks at us as if we could have prevented her suffering. By now artists depict war as useless and destructive.
Hostages of War, Gely Korzhev, 1998 - 2005, From the collection of: The Institute of Russian Realist Art (IRRA)
Moving to the present we still see how civilians and innocent are affected by war. The video attached is a war artist who explains how she depicts modern war (although her pieces are not shown).
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
