Eugene Delacroix’s the Massacre at Chios Greek Families...

Many emotions stem from war and violence. Some people cope by talking to a friend, others write things down in a journal. Very few choose to discard the written or vocal word for brush and canvas, chalk and paper, or any number of artistic mediums at their disposal. Eugene Delacroix and Otto Dix were two such men. Even though their careers blossomed almost a century apart, they shared common ground. Both men chose to speak through their work depicting history with an unfiltered approach. How does a piece of art affect a viewer? Does that piece convey a message effectively to its viewers? Let us investigate the two artists that roused plenty of conflict and sentiment with their depiction of two very sensitive topics in their era.†¦show more content†¦In 1920 Otto Dix created a Drypoint print entitled Kriegeskrà ¼ppel (War Cripples). War Cripples was one of Otto Dix’s earliest attempts at print work. His basis for this print was a painting that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis damned as degenerate and demolished. The print illustrates a group of military veterans struggling down a city street. Dix brings attention to their deformed human shells by making them appear partly mechanized. The man pushing the wheel chair appears to be holding up a middle finger in the original painting as they walk by a shoe store that they do not have much use for anymore. Also, the man in the middle seems to be adding an abstract flair to the piece. He appears to be either shaking or having an out of body experience where his spirit seems to be floating above him. Delacroix’s The Massacre at Chios transmits feelings of loss, despair, and tragedy to its viewers. The Massacre at Chios requires no history lesson to understand that some great suffering had happened. Dix’s War cripples emanates some of the same feelings, viewers can see the artist’s political views and feelings toward the war. I feel that The Massacre of Chios translates its message more effectively to viewers across time. A viewer from our day and age can look upon the massive painting and immediately feel the transference of anguish and pain. However, in order to understand the message that Dix may be trying to convey, the viewer would have to understand