V = Victorie/ Viktorie 1943 - 1945

This anonymous propaganda poster, probably printed during the Second World War, features a stark ‘V’ motif. It’s not a beautiful piece, but more of a blunt instrument, designed for a specific purpose. You can see the layering in its design, the large V over other marks, probably hastily painted. I'm drawn to the crude texture and the limited palette of blacks and greys. It speaks to the urgent, no-nonsense approach typical of wartime communication. The artist isn't trying to create a timeless masterpiece; they're trying to deliver a message, directly and immediately. The texture almost feels like a photograph of a piece of paper, or a poster, rather than the thing itself. That big, bold V, though. It’s less about artistic finesse and more about raw, graphic impact. It reminds me a bit of some of the agitprop art of the early 20th century, where the message is everything, and the medium is just there to serve it. Propaganda, maybe, but it's also a raw expression of a very specific, desperate moment in time.