The German students in the War of Liberation of 1813 1908

Ferdinand Hodler made this drawing of German students in the War of Liberation of 1813 with pencil on paper. I imagine him trying to capture a moment of collective feeling or emotion. Look at the top half of the drawing, with the repetitive marching figures. It makes me wonder, what was Hodler thinking about when he made this? The image has been made with such economy and repetition, that the feeling is generalized rather than specific. It's like they are all the same person! Then, in the bottom half of the drawing, the artist seems to suggest that things get a bit messy when they get up close. The whole thing feels very raw, like he's trying to figure out how the experience of war and its human cost can be conveyed through art. This work speaks of art's potential to be both critical and empathetic, and also a little sarcastic. Hodler is clearly inviting us to consider the various ways we engage with history and memory through images.