Jack Harrison, First Prize, Years 10 & 11, 2019

C. R Nevinson, La Mitrailleuse, 1915

This painting was produced by Nevinson in 1915. The painting depicts 3 French soldiers in beneath a shadow of a trench. Underneath a sky and closed by ‘criss-cross’ barbed wire. There is striking juxtaposition in the image as the cubist style he uses, makes the faces “appear almost like machines.” *without features as the figures a broken down into ‘mask-like’ shapes *and yet the image is overshadowed by religious symbolism. This includes the glass-like pains of blue and white in the sky between the lead work effect of the barbed wire. In the bottom left of the image, the wooden bracing that one of the figures is shown to be carrying almost suggests the shape and scale of a crucifix; like a station of the cross image. This is reminiscent of the symbolism effect in “Christ In The House Of His Parents” by John Everett Millais. This may metaphorically suggest how the soldiers sacrifice their lives to save the civilian population of the future. On the left of the image the 3 posts silhouetted by the sky it portrays the image of the 3 crosses on the top Calgary hill. *The shafts of white light behind them are like those in the chiaroscuro of Rembrandt in “The Three Crosses” (1653.)

The central focus on the red trousers one of the figures is wearing is another method used by the artists to portray symbolic sacrifice in the Great War. This echoes with the Red clothing in “Christ In The House Of His Parents” which also symbolises future sacrifice. The shapes are angular and violent which shoes the influence of the Italian futurism style on Nevinson’s work. However, the picture has deeper meaning than Italian Futurism by contrasting violence and peace. The simplistic sharpness of Nevinson’s style depicts the emotional horrors of war in a violent way. This made me think of the style adopted by the Bristolian artist Banksy in the way the he also uses a raw political and sometimes violent and offensive subject to also make people think about war and world issues. I am moved by this painting because I have experienced going to the trenches in Belgium and France understanding the physical and mental darkness of the environment. The graphic style is still so relevant to young people today over a century later. The painting has catalysed my interest in art and historical event in paintings.