Two Soldiers at Arras

John Singer Sargent American

Not on view

During World War I, John Singer Sargent traveled to the front lines as an official war artist for the British government. Horrified by the use of chemical weapons, he made a number of studies of soldiers suffering the effects of gas attacks. This closely cropped view focuses attention on two debilitated men, lying in the grass. The figure at left clutches his eyes, underscoring one of the grave effects of exposure to mustard gas—temporary blindness. When Sargent returned from France, he synthesized these many studies into a monumental composition, Gassed (1919; Imperial War Museum, London), which depicts soldiers blinded by the toxic gas being led to treatment.

Two Soldiers at Arras, John Singer Sargent (American, Florence 1856–1925 London), Watercolor and graphite on paper, American

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Two Soldiers at Arras, John Singer Sargent (American, Florence 1856–1925 London), Watercolor and graphite on paper, American
Two Soldiers at Arras, John Singer Sargent (American, Florence 1856–1925 London), Watercolor and graphite on paper, American

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