Dugout, from War

Prints and Drawings

1924

Otto Dix (German, 1891-1969)
published by Verlag Karl Nierendorf/Galerie Nierendorf (German)

World War I dragged on for four years, making the trenches of the front line a second home for the soldiers. In this depiction, the ragtag soldiers (including Otto Dix, shown in profile as the cut-off figure in the middle) seem to be enjoying a moment away from the gassing and bombs. Still, darker sides of this life are illustrated in the stacked bunks behind the card players, an image that confuses the act of sleeping underground with death and coffins. The artist would repeat this motif in the bottom panel of his monumental painting War Triptych (1929–32).

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Otto Dix
Title: Dugout, from War
Place: Germany (Artist's nationality)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1924
Medium: Etching and aquatint on cream wove paper
Dimensions: Plate: 19.7 × 29 cm (7 13/16 × 11 7/16 in.); Sheet: 47.5 × 35.3 cm (18 3/4 × 13 15/16 in.)
Credit Line: Margaret Fisher Endowment
Reference Number: 1999.360.5

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