Wounded Soldier by Otto Dix

Wounded Soldier is a painting by Otto Dix, a German painter who served during World War I. After coming back from the war, Dix was haunted by the destruction he saw and translated that onto canvas. The painting depicts a soldier in immense pain. By painting in black and gray tones, Dix gives the piece a hopeless and haunting feeling. The mangled soldier, seeming to be crying out in pain, is one of many that Dix witnessed while serving in the war.

This piece captures how the postmodern era felt about war. Instead of showing a hero, triumphing and killing his enemy, this painting illustrates a dying man, afraid and in pain. There is nothing glamorous and heroic about how this soldier is portrayed. The dreary colors enhance the feeling of helplessness that was not before seen in war depictions. Dix attempts to show a true war image, complete with wounds, fright, and hopelessness. This painting not only shows how terrifying and destructive war is, but also gives off a feeling of horror and devastation that had before been absent in paintings of war.

Like Catch 22 and The Daily Show, Wounded Soldier attempts to open people’s eyes to the horrors of war. All three of these pieces show how horrible and scary war can be. However, Dix’s painting takes on a much more serious approach than the first two. Instead of using irony and humor to portray war, Dix uses an upfront approach where what you see is what you get to prove his point.

Otto Dix, Wounded Soldier, 1916. http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/artists_a-k/dix/Dix_WoundedSoldier1924.jpg