Verdun

Today is Remembrance Day, a memorial day observed since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. In Poland it is celebrated as an Independence Day, as the ending of First World War allowed Polish people to regain the freedom and unity of their country after over a hundred years of partitions. 

On this occasion I want to remind you of The Battle of Verdun (February - December 1916) which remains the most deadly of all the First World War battles—over 800.000 soldiers died there. Felix Vallotton in today's painting attempted to create a pictorial experience of the battle with an almost abstract, cubical forms. The composition is organized around colored light beams caused by artillery, gas clouds that are forming triangles, and the lines of rain which we see on the left. The geometry of the composition symbolises extreme violence, disintegration of the landscape and massive killings caused by the machines. 

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