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• Thursday, December 21, 2006 12:16 PM

  Otto Dix

  In my opinion, one of if not THE most important painter(s) of the 20th century. He volunteered for the Graman army, served in the trenches for most of WWI and made art constantly throughout the entire war. The process of his becoming a soldier, fighting, becoming disillusioned, apparently developing PTSD and apparently recovering from it in the years following the war are very evident in his body of work.

  Any discussion of how veterans are treated in this or any other country immediately makes me think of his postwar painting "The Match Seller" (see: http://upper.usm.k12.wi.us/academics/History/History%20WEb/OttoDixPaintings.htm) Also on that page are "Skat Players", "Prague Street", and "Trench Suicide" each of which are enormously illustrative of various traumas faced by veterans of futile (or, ANY) war.

  Not surprisingly, he was criticized for the "defeatist" tone of his work; his status as a repeatedly decorated war hero afforded him some protection from such criticism. He was later drafted by the NAZI regime for its war, and then not surprisingly jailed for his pacifist tendencies.

  I find the development of his work over the years to be a very reassuring and hopeful thing; for many years after the war his work was filled with anger and insanity but in his later years his work became utterly peaceful and placid.

  Have a look at: (http://www.nga.gov.au/Dix/index.cfm) or just Google.

  —SB Read SB's other letters
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