Death, sacrifice and mourning in German women's art of the First World War

Abstract

The war and its consequences were the dominant themes in German women's art between 1914 and 1919. In the early stages of the conflict, women's art was employed to rally support for the war effort, to appeal to women's patriotism and to offer practical guidelines for living under wartime conditions. As the war continued, however, much of the work produced by women artists began to reflect a growing awareness of the carnage occurring on the fighting fronts. Many of the images they created reflected the pain of women's bereavement and the different stages of their mourning process. Art also provided a medium through which different interpretations of the conflict were explored and the search for a meaning of the war could progress. This study will argue that women's art of the First World War reflects a unique contemporary perspective on the conflict which was grounded in women's actual wartime experiences. This led to the development of new iconographical patterns in women's art.