Die schlafenden von Fort Vaux (Gas-Tote) [The sleepers of Fort Vaux - gas deaths]

This image is plate 46 from the portfolio of 50 etchings comprising the series 'Der Krieg (The War)' published by Otto Dix in 1961. The series consists of fifty images assembled in five consecutive portfolios of ten plates each (generally inscribed in the margin in pencil, I to X). It constitutes, along with his 1920-23 painting 'Der Schutzengraben (Trenches destroyed)', the first summation of his military experiences in the war. Dix did not determine the full size of the cycle until he was in the midst of its execution and produced the portfolio in three working periods while in the Black Forest and in St Goar am Rhein between 1923 ands Many soldiers sit and lie on the slope of a hill. One soldier is caught with his mouth open, seeming to be in conversation with another. It is as if the figures have turned to stone, or like volcano victims have been stilled in the moment.The blind stamp and the inscription indicate that this print comes from the second edition, published by Otto Dix in 1961. Dix wrote: "The war was a horrible thing, but there was something tremendous about it, too. I didn't want to miss it at any price. You have to see human beings in this unleashed state to know what human nature is." Dix achieved a superb mastery of the techniques of etching, his works equalling those of such great masters as Rembrandt and Goya. Strongly influenced by Goya's war etchings, Dix's 'Der Krieg' was published in five portfolios, each containing ten prints. The series was widely exhibited, and Dix received considerable critical acclaim.