The Art of War: Military Museums

Recently, my son and I were on a trip to Vienna.? He loves going to military museums, reading up on the history, analyzing the battles, and learning about the pivotal points that lead to war and the central figures that caused and continued military operations.

I enjoy joining him on these excursions to immerse myself in the art, artists, and artisans of these wars.? For me, the military museum is an art museum where artists, many who remain nameless or forgotten, capture not only the central characters, but the contributing factors of war: the places, the gore and glory, and the narrative of events that happened (or didn’t happen). The narratives captured in these artworks were often from the perspective of the patron, but what about the narratives of the artists and craftsmen?

My disclaimer is that I have taken pictures of art and weapons from the museum and give full credit to the museum for every well-placed installation. https://www.hgm.at/

In this painting, by artist Johann Ender, we see a man of nobility, a beautiful wife, and five adoring children captured in a moment of time, in oil on canvas.? We are drawn into the subjects’ eyes, where their gazes are going and their expressions.? We are drawn into the clothing of the time, either in silk, cotton, or chiffon, and the rich dyes unique to the time and wealth of this family.? We see shoes made by a cobbler, a bayonet with its gilded hilt and golden tassel, and the jewels and crests of family and/or military branding.? Setting this exquisite scene is the artist, capturing what they perceive are the thoughts and wishes of the family at an important time in history. What we can’t see are the many sketches that led to the painting, and the artisans whose skills and trades allowed for this family to be captured in perpetuity and remembered in all of their elegance.

I am not an expert in analysing the symbolism of art (music is more my forte), but I love seeing the skills of every artist in this and the following picture.

This is a painting of Ludwig Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden.? Try as I could, I could not find the name of the artist with my eye.? But the velvets, the silks, and the lace; the reds, the blues, and the slight hint of a rosy sunrise or sunset; the glove, the metal chest plate (crevasse), the wig made from hair, and the embroidery – all of these capture the designs, textiles, colors, and expression of the margrave, but more importantly, they silently capture the work and history of the many artisans who created the ensemble that exalted (or confirmed) the magrave’s status.

There was one final painting that I didn’t take a picture of, but it is burned into my memory.? It is a battle scene during the time of Napoleonic wars, potentially the War of the 5th Coalition.? The painting is oil on canvas, its size fits a ballroom wall.? The artist has captured the horrors of war. No senses are spared as blood, bodies, gun smoke, and dead horses fill the canvas.? The artist pulls our focus to two central figures: an injured horse and its wounded rider.? The horse’s head is on its rider’s arm; and looks in terror at its rider.? The rider, an officer, is looking at "us" the viewer with determination to get up and out from under his horse potentially to continue into battle. In this painting there was not one corner of the work that didn’t capture every aspect of the gore, the glory, and the terror of battle, as well as the gazes of the eyes and what each figure was feeling, be it pain, fear, shock, anger, remorse or hope.?

Artistic intention unknown, but visceral reaction accomplished.

In the art of war, we note that artists have created a historical narrative, but their place in history is often relegated to the initials in the corner of a painting.? It appears the names of armorers seem to have fared better.

As our eyes are drawn to the central figures and actions in these artistic depictions of war, we rarely remember the artists and artisans behind them; the presence of these artists is? reflected in the everyday objects, the culture, and the intimate details of these painted, sculpted, or crafted memories.?

This holds true today – we don’t remember who won the most recent Pulitzer prize for photojournalism, but we do remember what they captured and an important moment of a shared experience.

Artists and artisans capture and create the narratives of a moment in time, to tangibly illustrate history and bring an awareness.? So few of them are remembered in perpetuity or highlighted amongst the military history.

The next time you are at a military museum, take the time to learn their names too.

Christine Matovich is the Founder of CommonTime, an arts education platform that connects teaching artists and arts organizations to learners around the world.

Editor: Jordan Bardzik