“La Guerre – Otto Dix – Exposition Les désastres de la guerre 1800-2014 – Musée Louvre-Lens” by Yann Caradec/ CC BY
” Otto Dix, Flandern, 1936, New National Gallery Berlin” by lawrence’s lenses/ CC BY
“Otto Dix. Skull from The War (1924)” by yakovlev.alexey/ CCBY
“Otto Dix. Shot to Pieces The War (1924)” by yakovlev.alexey/ CCBY
” Otto Dix. Near Langemarck (February 1918) from The War (1924)” by yakovlev.alexey/ CCBY
“Otto Dix. Horse Cadaver from The War (1924)” by yakovlev.alexey/ CC BY
“Otto Dix. Otto Dix War Cripples (1920)” by yakovlev.alexey/ CC BY
These art pieces by Otto Dix depict horrific war scenes and the aftermath of war. Dix was a soldier in WWI and personally experienced the horrors and brutality of war. He experienced several injuries during the war and suffered from horrible nightmares after. He was badly injured and nearly died, this experience had a large effect on Dix, his depiction can be found above entitled “Flandern”. He kept a sketchbook during the war and later used it as well as his experiences as the inspiration for his collection, The War.
Dix was very critical of the Weimar republic and this showed in his art, in fact, it is what he is well known for along with his very harsh and real depictions of war scenes.
After the Nazis rose to power he lost his teaching position at the Kunstakademie in Dresden. His modern art did not align with the glorious Prussian style favored by the Nazis. Unfortunately, their distaste for his style caused his art to be removed from museums, destroyed, and sold. Interestingly in 1937 Dix was arrested for a short time for an attempt of the murder of Hitler. It is thought today that he was actually connected to it.
During WWII Dix was a member of the Volksstrum and was captured by the French. He then spent the rest of the war in a French camp.
Works Cited:
Fulmer, Jeffrey. ” Biography” The online Otto Dix Project. February 2009.
Accessed: 29 March 2017.