Bombs, Bullets & Mountains Of Corpses - (Joseph Philippe-Olivier Camille)

This picture depicts civilians of Pearl Harbor watching the explosion of the U.S. ship “USS SHAW” during the attack that occurred in this region on December 7th, 1941. This picture is a perfect representation of how violent the war was. When we look at the image, we are captivated by the amount of black smoke coming from the exploded ship, which becomes the focal point of the image.

In this image, is shown the war between the Japanese and the Americans during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7th, 1941. It shows Japanese torpedoes that are being launched from their ships to attack the American territory. In fact, if we look carefully at the picture, we can perceive the underwater missiles trail. When we look at this picture, there is a illusion of movement that is created, thus it is like we are able to feel everything that is happening. Moreover, two important elements of this pictures that shows the intensity of the war are the number of battleships in the foreground and the amount of smoke coming from explosions in the background.

This picture depicts the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral during the Blitz. The dome is surrounded by a humongous amount of smoke coming from the city. The Blitz was a period where the German Army would attack multiple cities of the United Kingdom. This particular photo was taken in London. What makes this picture interesting is the fact that the dome becomes the focal point of the image due to the fact that it is surrounded by smoke. Thus, the viewer is focused on the only visible monument in this picture.

In the beginning of World War II, the Germans invaded France, thus the country was divided in two parts. There was “La France de Vichy” which was under German occupation and “La Resistance” which was a rebel group of people leaded by Charles De Gaulle. In this picture, we can see the burning Grand Palais during the Liberation of Paris from the Germans that occurred on August 25th, 1944. Despite the fact that the Grand Palais is in the background of the picture, it is what catches the viewer’s attention, we are focused on the amount of smoke coming from the burning monument.

This painting created by Richard Eurich depicts the military preparations for the D-Day. When we look at the painting, we are able to see the numerous amounts of battleships that are being prepared for the combat. One formal element that Eurich used in this painting is texture. When we look at this painting, we can see that the texture emphasizes the illusion of death. We are able to see the ships on the foreground. However, in the background we are not able to identify if the objects in the sky are planes, smoke or other things. The colors used by Eurich are also murky, which automatically tells us that this is a very horrifying and stressful scene.

“Blitzed Site” is a painting created by LS Lowry during World War II. This piece of art portrays the city of Manchester during the Blitz. A formal element that Lowry used in this painting is geometric shape. If we look at the painting, a lot of rectangles are visible, which depicts the ruins of the different buildings, houses or monuments. The colors that Lowry used are very dark, which is to accentuate the feeling of fear. This painting is a very good representation of the different cities of the United Kingdom during the Germans attacks.

We all know that during World War II, the Nazi created multiple concentration and extermination camps for their prisoners. In this picture we can see Polish prisoners standing in rows in front of the Germans officers at the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Germany. This image is very interesting because it shows the countless numbers of prisoners in this concentration camp. It is like the principle of repetition was used in this picture. All the prisoners are dressed with the same stripped uniform, which creates unity in this picture.

This picture depicts the Berlin Cathedral after the bombing of Germany by the Allied on May 24th, 1944. This picture shows us the central dome of the cathedral burning down. We can see the flames coming from the dome and the huge amount of smoke coming from the attacks. The central part of the cathedral is the only part that catches the viewer’s attention. We are only focused on this part because it is where the action in happening. This image announces that the war is coming to an end and that the Nazi Regime is being destroyed.

The picture "Casualty of War" depicts a casual scene of the war during the Nazi invasion of Poland. In this scene, a young girl is crying over her sister that is either dead or on the verge to die. During these 6 years of conflicts, seeing your family members die was a casual thing, which is very awful. In the picture we can see how painful it might have been not only for the girl laying on the ground but also for the ones that witness this tragedy. The facial expression of the young girl shows us how sad she is feeling. Moreover if we look at the face of the injured girl, we can see that her face is barely recognizable due to the numerous injuries that she had. The viewer is only focused on the two girls, thus the background in this picure is not an essential element.

“D-Day Landings” shows US ships landing on the cost of Normandy during the D-Day. The D-Day was the day where the Allied started the operation to free Western Europe from the Nazi occupation. In this picture we can see the US troops in the water walking towards the cost of France. They are being attack by the German resistance. Despite the fact that the picture was taken in black and white, we can still feel how the scene appears to be horrific. The scene appears to be in a very dark environment. We are also able to see a lot of smoke coming from the machine guns, which shows us the intensity of the battle. The principle of movement is represented in this picture. When we look at this picture, we have the illusion that the scene is moving.