World War I and the Artists

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

On June 18, 1914, Archduke Franz-Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and his wife the Archduchess Sophie were assassinated during a visit to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The event sparked a catastrophic “total war” that spread across the globe, bringing down four long-lived multinational empires, and reconfiguring the geopolitics of the world in ways that continue to affect us today. Goaded by compelling propaganda, youth of all belligerent nations eagerly volunteered to fight. But the realities of trench warfare, and such newly invented barbarities as poison gas, soon led to doubt, disillusionment, and despair, and the death and wounding of some 40 million people. The War occasioned an astonishing amount of visual and literary culture. Artists, poets, novelists, and ordinary people of every belligerent nation reacted to the conflict, struggling to identify artistic languages adequate to convey both the utter novelty and the horror of their experience. In this seminar, we will examine the creative legacy of the War in works by European and American artists in various media: original prints and paintings, propaganda posters, film, poetry, music, and novels. We will visit Georgetown’s own Special Collections and there may be guest lecturers. Registration requires instructor approval. For more information about this and other courses in the Department of Art and Art History, please visit https://art.georgetown.edu This course is not available to audit.