Recently, your reading has focused on the impact of war on the history of modern art. In this week’s discussion forum, you will choose a work of art that expresses political themes specifically related to warfare. Although you are encouraged to focus on works related to World War One, you may also choose a work by an avant-garde Russian artist related to the Bolshevik Revolution, or even revisit Romanticism and choose a work of art related to the French Revolution or Napoleonic Wars (such as Goya’s Disasters of War).
The purpose of this assignment is to examine a work of art in its historical context, and also to research how political forces shaped the lives of artists. In your post, please choose a single work of art that has political content and describe the way in which the artist expresses their perspective. How do they communicate their ideas through iconography, narrative, color, technique, etc.? What specific political events inspired the work of art? How did these events shape the life of the artist?
Be sure to include an image of the work and for posting a poem in the forum that is related to World War One.
Answer preview
The painting demonstrates the real-life tragedy that happened due to the incompetence of the French Captain. The captain was commissioned to sail the naval as an act of political preferment thus creating an impression that the French government’s policies then were weak and the rate of corruption in the French monarchy. Due to poor leadership and decision making, the political deed caused the death of both the poor and wealthy such as appointed Senegal’s French governor and his family (Alhadeff, 2002).
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