Picture House - The Great War

For the first project of this year, we were asked to select a painting that inspires us in order to create a piece of our own work in our own specialist area. This piece of work should be made in such a way that it could be used during the development of some form of moving image production, such as film or animation for example.

When first given this project, I was unsure of what it was I wanted to create, so I decided that I would choose a painting first, to see where the painting would take me on my creative journey.

The painting that I selected is ‘The Great War’, a piece painted by René Magritte in 1964.

René Magritte was a Belgian Surrealist painter, well known for his habit of taking ordinary items and making them look odd and strange within the context he painted them in.

I was drawn to this piece at first by my curiosity at its colour palette. The mainly white and blue colours usually wouldn’t draw one’s eye, given that they almost seem to blend into one another - however, that splash of purple is what grabbed my attention.

This particular piece reminds me of people that I would sometimes see on trips to Brighton when I was younger during the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run - I saw a lot of photos being taken of people with period style outfits and a similar background. This piece definitely filled me with a sense of nostalgia because of that.

Above: The Great War by René Magritte

After looking further into the background of this painting, at what inspired the original artist, I found myself with a dilemma. I liked the painting, but not what it represented at all. The title of the piece does hint to its theme, but the theme of the World Wars was a little too strong for my liking. I myself may be a wargamer, but the reason that I can find that enjoyable is because it truly is just a game.

A quote from a website I used for research that sums up what this painting stands for quite well is ‘War is an unattainable woman. She seduces us with her very inaccessibility. Her face, so we believe, should be as beautiful as her garment.’

The dilemma I found myself facing was how I should turn my own work into something that does not represent the World Wars like the painting, yet is still inspired by the piece.

Harvard References:

'The Great War, 1964 by Rene Magritte' (no date) Available at: https://www.renemagritte.org/the-great-war.jsp (Accessed: 01 October 2021)

Dupêcher (2017) René Magritte. Available at: https://www.moma.org/artists/3692?=undefined&page=2&direction=fwd (Accessed: 20 October 2021)