War is (sadly) one of the oldest and most consistent themes in art. It always seems like there is no new way to present war, but here the same artist presented it in three very different ways. Outstanding artist. Thank you so much for the video!

In the second painting the further back soldier is actually way bigger than the one that’s closer to us. Now either he didn’t understand perspective (unlikely) or that’s an adult in the back and a child in the foreground which makes it even more unsettling

An ironic detail about "Taube" is that, whilst there was a light bomber called the Taube, taube means "dove" in German. The bird of peace.

For more on this theme I can also recommend Otto Dix' "Der Krieg" and his other works during and after the great war.

Reminds me of Felix Nußbaum. The museum in Osnabrück is such a harrowing experience. A joyful young artist slowly changing until he is painting nothing but skeletons.

As a Brit it was really nice to see this talked about, WWI and its memory has always been a big deal here - every town or village or neighbourhood has memorials to the people who came from there and died in WWI (and WW2). Part of what made it so tragic was that the young boys who were sent to die in the trenches were lied to by recruiters about the reality of war and told they had a duty to fight ''for king and country'''. This changed the way a lot of us thought about how a country should be ran and was the start of us becoming a more liberal country (believe it or not I would say we are more liberal now than then, though we still have a way to go in many ways, obviously)

Paths of Glory" was one of Kubric's first movies. It is a stunning anti war statement. I swear this happened. On the night that the US said that the war in Vietnam had ended and the US was starting to withdraw troops NYC's channel PIX changed their scheduled 10:00 PM movie to Paths of Glory"

I was just talking to a family member about you and Art Deco. You can really make a man cry, you’re a gift to us all. Thanks for everything you do.

Reminds me of the Futurist movement in Italy, except that they never really changed their tune. Kept with the pro-military stance until they joined up with Mussolini (for a little while). One of those instances where you can't remove the (interesting and neat looking) art from the proto-fascist movement of Futurism.

The Great War was transformational is so many ways. I had seen the machine gunners before but not the artists' other paintings featured. Thanks for the video!

Very great video, I always love watching your channel! The first part with the quote about the soldiers becoming machines I find super interesting, in Erich-Maria Remarques book "Im Westen nichts Neues" some very similar descriptions can be found, becoming machine-like but at the same time you very often find animalistic descriptions of machines and humans in the situation. As if they are stripped off their humanity - they function, they are led by their basic survival instincts. And then come the descriptions of dead people, suddenly, they start to become humans again, they find passports and pictures of their family, same in the painting here, suddenly the two soldiers become realistic humans but seemingly only once the battle is over and their life ended. Only then we seem to realize what we lost, that we shouldn't kill each other, that these are individuals that can't be repaired like a machine and will be forever lost because of this gruesome conflict.

I saw Nevinson’s “After a Push” in person at the Imperial War Museum in London this past summer and thought it so beautiful in its simplicity and horror that I’ve been seeking a print for my home ever since. Thank you for covering this incredible Great War artist.

Frederick Varley 'For What?" Is another excellent depiction of WW1 from an under appreciated painter

I had to look up if title of the third painting was indeed 'A Taube' as I suspected. the 'au' is pronouced as in 'how' and the 'e' is not silent, but I was not exactly here to nitpick about that, just to point out that 'A taube' means 'A dove' which is of course ironic as doves most usually are seen as symbols of peace, and not of destruction. (and yes, it is of course revering to the name of a type of German warplane)

"war never changes" is a Fallout Quote

Love your videos!! Keep up the amazing work

I saddens me to think about the pain we bring on ourselves

As Judge Holden said: “It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way. It endures because young men love it and old men love it in them. Those that fought, those that did not.”

Stunning story. Thanks

Every video make gives me an opportunity to learn something new about a new artist. And every time I have been printing out one or two paintings which you include and adding them to my collection. I just want to say thank you for filling such a needed spot on UKposts for exploring creativity, history and sensibility through art!

I like what Hemingway said in Farewell to Arms: "I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. We had heard them, on proclamations that were slapped up by billposters over other proclamations, now for a long time, and I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it. There were many words that you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity. Certain numbers were the same way and certain dates and these with the names of the places were all you could say and have them mean anything. Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or allow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates."

You make me look at art in a way i never looked at it before! You are a master at describing and focussing on an artpiece, for that, i thank you. You got a new subscriber.

This was a really enjoyable change of pace for war related content here on YT. Thanks! Subbed.

16 years old, when I went to the war. To fight for a land fit for heroes. God on my side, and a gun in my hand, Chasing my days down to zero. And I marched, and I fought, and I bled , and I died. And I never did get any older. But I knew at the time, that a year in the line, was a long enough life for a soldier. We all volunteered, and we wrote down our names, and we added two years to our ages. Eager for life, and ahead of the game, ready for history’s pages. And we brawled and we fought, and we whored till we stood, 10,000 shoulder to shoulder. A thirst for the hun, we were food for the gun, and that’s what you are when you’re soldiers. I heard my friend cry, and he sank to his knees, coughing blood as he screamed for his mother. And I fell by his side, and that’s how we died, clinging like kids to each other. And I lay in the mud, and the guts and the blood, and I wept as his body grew colder. And I called for my mother, but she never came, though it wasn’t my fault and I wasn’t to blame. The day not half over, and 10,000 slain. Now there’s nobody remembered our names. And that’s how it is for a soldier. 1916 Mötorhead

Your descriptive wording's a fine flavor I cannot see elsewhere online, and it's like a poetic orchestra, detailing the presented visuals through refined vocabulary.

Stunning presentation. Thank you.

u keep cooking up so many great videos

Change the soldiers to have a modern uniform and its Ukraine. War indeed never change.

Brilliant...well done. Every one of your videos drives back to the studio to ask myself "What am I trying to say?" 🙏🙏🙏

This was a beautiful video. Thank you for making it

With how vivid in detail paths of glory is, you can only imagine it was a scene he saw, and was etched into his memory, and now it is given physical form, rendered onto paper the trauma of war.

One of the best , very well put video , really enjoyed till the very end ! Amazing work!

Love your videos, the theme choice, your commentary with the paintings is perfect. Could you make a video about Jakub Schikaneders dark Prague alleys, perhaps his Murder in the House someday?

Love you mr. Canvas ❤ Great content

Fantastic as always. Would love your take on the British Vorticists if that's of interest to you

Instant subscription. This is so interesting if you love history and art

Thank you ❤

Great video man!

Oh shit he's doing the youtube video-essayist voice.

Is it too much to ask for a bibliography of the works you used in the description instead of just a pay-me button

The third painting moved me to tears...

this was very well done

To anyone who hasn't yet, watch the original All Quiet On The Western Front. It's a difficult movie to sit through, but it was one of the first movies to depict the reality of the first World War. It's told from the German perspective, which is something you almost never see, as Germany were "the bad guys". (In reality I would blame Serbian nationalists who assasinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand for actually starting thr war, and all the alliances made before the assasination for the escalation) The book the movie was based on was written by a man who served in the German army during World War I, and his perspective on what the war was like is really interesting to see. From what I know, the 1930 movie is very faithful to the book

This fills me with sadness.

war never changes

As an artist AND a veteran, I can relate to this in ways I wish I didn't.

Excellent video!

In thousands of years we have learned nothing. War will seemingly never end. Forever sending the young to die, for ‘glory’ or another meaningless reason.

I loved the video! Anti-war art is one of my favorite genres, it's just so powerful, so ugly and muddy, bloodstained, disgusting, sad. One major critique I have, though, is citation of sources in your videos. I love watching them and have been subscribed for a long time. As an art history student though, it's a bit distressing hearing you talk about stuff without knowing where you got your information. Not that I don't trust you and I understand you're doing youtube videos, not scientific essays. I still think it would be nice knowing where does your knowledge comes from, if it's not solely interpretation, and if it is I believe it should be stated so somewhere in the video. To avoid confusing it for concrete, set in stone truths that could come from an interview with the artist for example. You're a huge voice in the popular art history scene, and I think that's great as you're breathing new life into such a struggling field. I feel though as that bears some sort of a responsibility to cite sources, or at least that it would set a good example to cite them. Not only for aspiring art historians but also for people interested in researching a topic for themselves.

A wonderful video to match a horrible time.

his work has a terrible beauty

The war never changes but it does change people.

all three are uniquely sad

Hey, I’m trying to find a WW1 painting I saw a long time ago but haven’t been able to see again. I saw it on a tv program about WW1 art like 10 years ago. I believe it was painted by an artist in the Austro-Hungarian empire, perhaps a soldier/veteran. It depicted soldiers trudging through a landscape, hunched over as if heavily burdened by their equipment. The style of the painting The commentary in the documentary mentioned something about the soldiers’ hunched pose was reminiscent of art depicting farmers/laborers/peasants carrying or laboring over a heavy bundle of sticks on their back. I recall them mentioning something about the burdens of peasants in the Austro-Hungarian empire and I seem to recall them mentioning serfdom in the empire but I’m not sure in what way that is related. The style of the painting is similar to Mitrailleuse, with the people being impersonal and machine-like, stuck in identical hunched poses.

War is worst thing that happened to humanity, to life, to earth.

I think you should consider covering William Utermohlen and his self portraits while suffering from Alzheimer’s. It’s an incredibly scary series of self portraits that eventually become scribbles as he literally forgets how to draw. Dementia and Alzheimer’s has to be one of the worst ways to die…

I have to say, your french pronunciation is extremely on point. Why you do have a quebecois accent tho? Edit: oh, you’re probably quebecois, makes sense. My bad

I dont get notified of your videos, ever. I've had the bell icon set to "all" for at least a year now :/

I know an artist before and after ww1 strange man from Austria

3:26 The radical shift in art style, and just the way it was drawn, make me think this is an actual image he saw that was seared into his brain ! Even though its still very stylistic [ compared to modern realism anyway ] you can feel the realism bleeding through. Like his proportions are on point with his viewing angle.... i believe he really saw this scene and didnt just create a tableu !

If you are in the Washington D.C. area, check out the U.S. Army museum at Ft. Belvoir. They have an art exhibit on the 2nd floor with art peices similar to this video, painted by service members during the various wars.

I really wanna hear you talking about Paul Nash, maybe intertwined with Dave Mckean's book on Nash.

I realized with the first few quotes regarding men and machine becoming one and made in their own image, swords and other methods of fighting are actually healthier or yield more skill/dexterity. Whereas guns and machines make you rigid with extensive use.

I am in tears every time I see Paths of Glory

I would give a lot to see that “CENSORED” version. A powerful image

It's amazing how I actually enjoy art when it's presented with an interesting story, rather than just hundreds of words in a boring textbook

I expected Otto DIx, but this was delightfully different . Thank you :3

eu quase sempre derramo uma lágrima assistindo seus vídeos...

Excellent piece. (Please check into the verbs lie and lay.)

I think the 2nd painting is a better reflection than the first, the machine gun one.

I don't understand why everyone is shocked. The very first cave art was of the hunt. We hunted the lands until we depleted the stocks. Then we had to fight our brother for what was left. Nothing is different now.

In the first painting there is a white spiky nouse kinda demon face 2/3 at the bottom, I cant unsee it .

My favourite of Nevinson's is "A Star Shell".

“War is based” -People who never went to war.

Song is: Traces of Absence DEX 1200

Does anyone know the name of the song that plays in the background?

I always wondered why "Paths of Glory" name of the movie by Kubrick sounds so familiar.

Will we ever see you on Nebula?

Amazing video

Where can I find paintings with the same style as Nevinson’s

amazing

My favorite Austrian painter

I know an artist that got changed by a war pretty drastically

Most artists interpret what they think war is, but problem is that interpretation inevitably involves choices like motif and stylization. So interpretation is an act of making choices about degrees of artificiality. But such choices can be made either by an artist or a state. So is the 'Machinegun' reality so different from political art produced under Stalinism or Mussolini? No, or at least not without a prologue. So in 'Paths of Glory' when Nevinson wanted to portray the dead bodies of people he cared about he chose realism. War means death, and interpretation of that can be dishonest or ignorant, even if innocently so. An artist once told me that Picasso's Guernica was the greatest war painting of all time. I honestly thought that was an opinion that could only have been formulated from a very safe distance. I was equally unimpressed by an artist who made stylized models of the crematoriums of Auschwitz, and asked $20,000 each for his 'interpretations'. Steep. But he was out of his depth when he was introduced to Ukrainians and Bosnians who attended his exhibition. Interpretative art met reality, and chose to ignore it. I thought that was very interesting. The strength of 'Paths of Glory' is that there is really no interpretation, only the sad truth.

Thumbnail Before: artist in a trench After: dead artist, in a trench Hm, it seems war kills, and people die when they are killed

What if we made cool machines that don’t kill? Because machines are very cool.

it feels surreal hearing a fallout New Vegas quote being used in a video about ww1

what is the music name ?

War was once glorified, and then villified; but never does a true victor arise from the conflict of war, only the deaths of many.

War is always a depressing expirence.

You forgot the last line of the quote. War never changes but men do through the paths they walk

I wonder if stanley kubrick new this painting since his movie has the same name

It’s almost as if there was an entire art and literature movement that was about this exact thing?

An Artist before and after being rejected

What is the name of the music?

Good video👍

Background music?

Because war war never changes

Music is: Traces of Absence DEX 1200

🖤