The first German gas attack in Ypres

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: The Ottawa National Gallery (Canada).

Germany’s use of such a war technology as the dispersion of toxic gases outraged the whole world. Many artists, especially those who participated in battles (Otto dix and others) depicted the horror that engulfed the soldier close to the apocalypse. The technique of thin stroke engines in combination with large spots of local colour is used in the multi-figure painting by Roberts. The expression is shown with the help of the chaotic movements of soldiers who do not understand what is happening. The viewer snatches the panicky horror of empty eye sockets and convulsive gestures from the swirling space, hears hoarse cries – it’s hard not to feel the whole inhumanity of the attack.