War Stories: World War I Print Portfolios by German Artists

World War I, dubbed the “Great War” for its unprecedented human and geographic scale, was fought on both sides by armies of millions of citizen soldiers, including many artists. Some became official war artists; others served on the front lines and made the war a subject of their art. 

For German artists, the print portfolio was one of the most popular formats for depicting the war and its aftermath. Artists used the portfolio’s sequential structure to tell stories cinematically through a series of images, and as they gained distance from the battlefield, it allowed them to explore complex narratives and to work through the trauma of their wartime experiences. 

War Stories presents selections from eight print portfolios about the war including iconic works by Käthe Kollwitz, Otto Dix, and George Grosz. A companion installation to Imagined Fronts: The Great War and Global Media.

Credit: Overview from museum website