« Oskar Kokoschka, 1915–1917: From War Artist to Pacifist »
Publisher
Cologne: Snoeck
Date issued
2013
In
1914. The Avant-Gardes at War
From page
246
To page
253
Subjects
Kokoschka World War I
Abstract
Article written together with Gertrud Held on the transformation that Kokoschka underwent between 1915 and 1917 as a result of his war experiences. Published in the exhibition catalogue of the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Bonn.
On 28 July 1914 Austro-Hungary declared war on the kingdom of Serbia. Since Kokoschka was 28 years old he was liable for military service and had to reckon on being called up at any time. His friend and mentor Adolf Loos enjoyed good relations with the Army General Staff, and this allowed Kokoschka to join the most exclusive cavalry regiment of the Dual Monarchy: the Imperial-Royal Regiment of Dragoons “Archduke Josef” No. 15. On 29 August 1915 Kokoschka was badly wounded near Volodymyr-Volynsky in Ukraine. On 29 March 1916 he applied to the war press bureau to become a war artist. After Italy declared war in May 1915, the Austro-Hungarian army fought in the Isonzo Valley in what is today Slovenia. Kokoschka was sent there in mid-July 1916 and by the end of August he had drawn some 30 pictures of troop movements, gun emplacements and ruined villages, mostly in coloured chalk. After being wounded a second time, Kokoschka became a pacifist and from 1917 onwards worked on an anti-war portfolio that can be understood as a modern variant of the Grandes Misères de la guerre by Jacques Callot (1633) and of Desastres de la guerra by Goya (1810–1814).
On 28 July 1914 Austro-Hungary declared war on the kingdom of Serbia. Since Kokoschka was 28 years old he was liable for military service and had to reckon on being called up at any time. His friend and mentor Adolf Loos enjoyed good relations with the Army General Staff, and this allowed Kokoschka to join the most exclusive cavalry regiment of the Dual Monarchy: the Imperial-Royal Regiment of Dragoons “Archduke Josef” No. 15. On 29 August 1915 Kokoschka was badly wounded near Volodymyr-Volynsky in Ukraine. On 29 March 1916 he applied to the war press bureau to become a war artist. After Italy declared war in May 1915, the Austro-Hungarian army fought in the Isonzo Valley in what is today Slovenia. Kokoschka was sent there in mid-July 1916 and by the end of August he had drawn some 30 pictures of troop movements, gun emplacements and ruined villages, mostly in coloured chalk. After being wounded a second time, Kokoschka became a pacifist and from 1917 onwards worked on an anti-war portfolio that can be understood as a modern variant of the Grandes Misères de la guerre by Jacques Callot (1633) and of Desastres de la guerra by Goya (1810–1814).
Publication type
book part