Soldiers in the Trenches 1919 - 1920

André Dunoyer de Segonzac scratched these Soldiers in the Trenches, using a drypoint needle on a copper plate, and then inked and printed it. I think it probably took a while, longer than it looks! I can feel the artist’s hand moving across the plate. See how the lines wobble and dance, catching the light and casting shadows, building up a vision of gloom and dread. The artist’s marks are all we have to go on. I feel for Segonzac trying to capture the scene, wondering what he was thinking, maybe praying for it all to end. The sky is a swarm of dark lines. The artist used hatching, where he made the lines closer and darker in some areas, and more open in others, to build up a sense of density. I feel the dirt. And right there, in the foreground, a single soldier walks toward us. It’s not the end, but the picture captures how it feels to be stuck in the middle of things.