Original artwork description:

DAY AND NIGHT ON THE SOMME
2021
120 (h) x 100 (w) x 4,5 cm
47,2 (h) x 39,4 (w) x 1,8 in
acrylic and oil on canvas
Coronavirus series

The Battle of the Somme lasted 141 days (1 July – 16 November 1916). Men went into battle because the politicians told them this was the decisive war that would end all wars. But nothing but horror and death awaited them. British casualties on the first day of this battle were the worst in the history of the British Army. In the United Kingdom and Newfoundland, the Battle of the Somme became the central memory of World War I, but in Germany, memories of this fight (and this war) have largely been pushed out of the public eye.

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A German officer wrote home, 14 August 1916:
“Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word!”
~ Friedrich Steinbrecher (killed in action 1917)

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About the background:

This painting is one of a monochrome series of current works that artistically deal with the subject of the coronavirus and the effects. There is an existential threat that is not exactly tangible, remains diffuse and yet dominates everything. What does this pandemic do to the individual? What will remain of this strangely depressing time? Sometimes a look at history helps. In modern history, how did previous generations deal with such dramatic episodes? And we understand, there were dramas of completely different dimensions that humans are able to cope with.

A war of annihilation raged around a hundred years ago (1914 - 1918) that set the entire world on fire and changed everyone: The First World War is the key event of the 20th century and is still having an impact today. The history books contain the names of the generals and the great battles. But what about the normal individual, the one in the trenches as well as the families who struggled for survival back home? How did you think, how did they feel in the midst of an existential threat that they had no control over?

The photos of the battlefields of the First World War, in particular the fighting on the Western Front in Flanders, before Verdun and on the Marne and Somme (between German, French, British, American, Belgian, Australian, New Zealand, Portuguese, and Canadian soldiers) formed the con-crete template for these paintings. The monochrome color scheme of the paintings, dominated by Prussian Blue, refers to the historical black and white photos. The letters that the soldiers at the front wrote back home are well documented. And anyone reading this field post today will notice that the men in the armies (and their families) thought and felt alike despite their opposition. And even more, how similar people were to us with all their hopes and fears at the beginning of the 20th century, more than we probably want to admit.

Today these battlefields have been renatured. The fields and forests are quiet and peaceful, and almost nothing gives an inkling of the earlier horror, the trenches, and mass armies that generated unprecedented destructive power with modern weapons. What determined the fate of millions of people is now only a fading memory. And this is exactly what the artworks in this series of paintings tell about. There is a fundamental insight: every horror has an end at some point. The chance to shape life individually and freely again will return. The coronavirus will only remain a temporary episode in all of our lives. And in a hundred years at the latest we won't even remember what is troubling us now, what caused it, whether it was good or bad, and whether it was a medical or a human disaster. The dark fades (too) quickly. Man is a survivor and always looks ahead. And that's how I want the paintings in this series to be understood, despite the difficult subject, as signs of firm hope.

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This monochrome painting in Prussian blue is a LARGE-SIZED artwork and offers an aesthetic impression on your wall AND as my authentic and personal artwork an artistic subsurface message.

I use exclusively oil and acrylic colors, canvas and wooden frames in a professional museum quality. The paintings wears my signature on the front and is signed, entitled and dated on the backside. Deliberately the XL-sides (about 4,5cm / 1,8 in) are not a part of the painting and in dark Prussian Blue. The painting is ready to hang (on the backside: high-quality iron plates with metal inserts and nylon rope for gallery use), unframed and doesn’t need a frame or any additional surface treatment. The piece will be safely shipped in a custom wooden crate. It will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a cover letter.

Please note: In context pictures are not necessarily to scale and are for illustrative purposes only. If you have any questions about this artwork or any other piece, feel free to contact me and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks so much for taking an interest in my work.

Warm wishes,
Christian

Materials used:

acrylic and oil on canvas

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