The modernist expression on the painter’s canvas is marked by the popularization of
a few distinct styles influenced by the war, often directly informing, or influencing each
other. In Britain, the wartime and post-war art world was led by the Slade school of fine art,
with illustrious alumni such as Paul Nash and Winifred knights leading the charge of British
modernism in the post-war world. Paul and his brother John served on the western front
before being commissioned as official artists in 1917 and 1918. 3 Their experiences of the
horrors of the western front expressed themselves in surrealist landscapes occupied by
defeated-looking figures. Indeed, it is rare to see a human figure that does not have a
hunched back or downturned eyes within their work, if there is a human figure at all
present.
Paul Nash, The Wire, 1918
3 [‘A war of the imagination’: the experience of the British artist: Paul Gough; British war artists chapter; 2001; pp. 331-347; p.342.] cited in Oram, G. (ed.) WS-201: The First World War 'Course Documents', Canvas, Swansea University [https://canvas.swansea.ac.uk/courses/48915/files/5439433?module_item_id=2498256] (accessed 5 th January).
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