How Art Was Used as Indirect Propaganda During the First World War

This research attempts to analyze art produced during and shortly after World War I and how it could be viewed as anti-war propaganda. Through the analysis of the art and the research of the personal lives of the artists, this paper analyzes how artists potentially infused their anti-war stance into their art, as well as the message they were attempting to convey. The pieces these artists produced were a form of indirect propaganda, influenced by each artist’s experiences at war and seen through the depiction of devastation, the artistic choices made, and the negative connotation of war conveyed in their work. By offering examples of direct propaganda, this research categorizes art under indirect propaganda to offer a new understanding. Scholars have debated how art and propaganda coincide and how they can differ and by providing a different way to view this art, it expands on the larger discussion of art as propaganda. This research also questions whether the artists made this art for themselves or the masses, and how that discussion and identification of purpose can further our understanding of art.