"No pen or drawing can convey this country—the normal setting of the battles taking place day and night, month after month. Evil and the incarnate fiend alone can be master of this war, and no glimmer of God's hand is seen anywhere. Sunset and sunrise are blasphemous, there are mockeries to man, only the black rain out of the bruised and swollen clouds all through the bitter black of night is fit atmosphere in such a land. The rain drives on, the stinking mud becomes evilly yellow, the shell-holes fill up with green-white water, the roads and tracks are covered in inches of slime, the black dying trees ooze and sweat and the shells never cease. They alone plunge overhead, tearing away the rotting tree stumps...annihilating, maiming, maddening, they plunge into the grave which is this land; one huge grave, and cast upon it the poor dead. It is unspeakable, godless, hopeless."
-Paul Nash
Painting and words by Paul Nash.
Official World War One artist.
4 comments:
One hopes that the 11.11.11 that approaches is a world apart...from what is displayed. The words and the image perfectly dance together as morbid partners. How can we still be so stupid? A raised weapon never results in peace. Must war always be our bedfellow.
Our dark tragedy...or not.
M
yes the words and art by mr nash are a perfect vision, as sad as it is.....
Forget glory and sacrifice. How lucky we are that the very last veteran of the trenches of WWI, Harry Patch, was so wise as to tell us, "War is organised murder, and nothing else."
You are right Neil.....
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