The Trench (detail), Félix Vallotton, 1915–16. The Getty Research Institute, 2004.PR.1. Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Richard A. Simms
World War I: War of Images, Images of War
GETTY CENTER
Research Institute Galleries I and II
World War I: War of Images, Images of War examines the art and visual culture of the First World War—a conflict of unprecedented mechanized slaughter as well as a struggle over the cultural dominance and direction of Europe. The exhibition juxtaposes the representation of the war in visual propaganda with its depiction by artists who experienced the brutality firsthand. Drawing principally from the Getty Research Institute's special collections, the exhibition features a range of satirical journals, prints, posters, and photographs as well as accounts from the front, including a war diary, correspondence, and "trench art" made by soldiers. Through such archival and graphic material, World War I: War of Images, Images of War captures the trauma of this first modern war.
