The Eastern Front 1942

Richard Correll’s ‘The Eastern Front’ is a woodcut print. It’s a powerful piece, stark black and white, with strong contrasts. The way Correll carves into the wood gives the image a real punch. Look at the large figure in the foreground, the soldier bent under the weight of what looks like a comrade on his back, maybe dead, maybe not. The way the lines describe his fatigue is palpable, you can almost feel the strain in his muscles. The texture is amazing; it's rough and immediate. The lack of color pushes the narrative to the fore. The two other soldiers in the background, barely visible, accentuate the overwhelming desperation of the scene. Notice how the barbed wire in the lower part of the piece forms an aggressive barrier. For me, this recalls some of Kathe Kollwitz’s war prints; both artists are preoccupied with the suffering of ordinary people. Ultimately, both force us to confront the brutal realities of war. There is no room for sentimentality here; only raw emotion.