Gassed

Gassed
John Singer Sargent, Gassed, 1919
By SARAH XU

One of Sargent’s larger paintings, Gassed measures 231 cm by 611 cm (7 feet 6.9 inches by 20 feet 0.6 inches). The size of the painting makes the group of soldiers almost life-size. I believe the size of the painting just makes the shocking effects of war more of a reality. In 1918, the British War Memorials Committee commissioned Sargent to create an image of the war with a “Anglo-American co-operation” theme. In order to paint an accurate representation of the war, Sargent traveled to the Guards Division near Arras and then observed the American Expeditionary Forces near Ypres. Sargent, a man who had “spent most of his life in a world built on proper routines and schedules,” was not accustomed to the unpredictable, violent environment (Davis 239). But, stepping out of his comfort zone paid off. Sargent personally experienced the exact scene depicted in Gassed, which led him to recreate the powerful moment, even though it didn’t fit under the desired theme. After its completion, Gassed was voted picture of the year by the Royal Academy of Arts in 1919. Similar to Madame X, the painting received disapproval. E.M. Forster, a novelist, attacked the painting because he believed it was “too heroic” while Virginia Woolf condemned the painting for being “too patriotic”.  It seems that Sargent can never escape the criticism.

The painting focuses on a group of wounded soldiers blindly trudging towards help after a mustard gas attack. Behind them, there is a similar group of wounded soldiers marching in a similar formation. Also in the background, Sargent painted a group of men playing football, despite the warfare around them. They represent a large portion of society, going on with their daily lives and are oblivious to the death and pain around them. The dull, lifeless colors suffocates the painting, allowing the viewer to almost smell the stale air. Although the blind men have suffered severe consequences of the war, they are considered fortunate compared to the piles of bodies on the bottom of the painting. This painting not only displayed the grim effects of war, but it also proved that Sargent had the ability to paint both sides of society, the upper class, but also the common soldier, and both in “powerful, revelatory detail” (240).
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Gassed

Gary Whittaker
Gassed, John Singer Sargent, 1919
By GARY WHITTAKER

Gas: slang: something that gives pleasure.

While these fine young are not celebrating their depiction in a rather famous painting, neither was Madame Gautreau after her depiction in Madame X. This may be hyperbole verging on an extreme, the comparison still stands. The good Madame simply wished to elevate her social status in a daring way. More daring usually translates to a better reward, yet it backfired. Her social life, and most of her entirety, became a scandal. Anyone caught near her would sink to an even lower footing for the crime of socializing with an outcast. This was the time of social standing meaning much more to ones daily life, every interaction was tied to ones social station. Eventually Madame Gautreau recovered from the set back and returned to social life. The same cannot be said for all of these young men.

A sick yellow hazes this painting, much like the mustard gas in Flanders Field. The khaki, dead earth and dead sky fill the painting with gloom. Yet, the soldiers stand tall and march on, relying on each other for support and guidance. The viewer's eye does not pick up on one single soldier, but rather the group. This is intentional, as one cannot count on one person to tell the tale of many. These soldiers still stand tall, despite their prognosis, some will recover others will not. Just as Madame Gautreau over came her endings at the brush, so too will some of these men at the hands of war.
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Gassed

Gassed
John Singer Sargent, Gassed, 1919

By TROY WORKMAN

Arms and the Boy
by Wilfred Owen

Let the boy try along this bayonet-blade
How cold steel is, and keen with hunger of blood;
Blue with all malice, like a madman's flash;
And thinly drawn with famishing for flesh.

Lend him to stroke these blind, blunt bullet-heads
Which long to muzzle in the hearts of lads.
Or give him cartridges of fine zinc teeth,
Sharp with the sharpness of grief and death.

For his teeth seem for laughing round an apple.
There lurk no claws behind his fingers supple;
And God will grow no talons at his heels,
Nor antlers through the thickness of his curls.
Editor's Note: Students were asked to match a poem of their choice with a painting of their choice. The relationship between the two shall be determined by the viewer/reader.
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