THE ARTIST

Marcel Janco was born in 1895 in Rumania. He then later left to study architecture in Zurich which around that time was going through some artistic changes because of world war 1. When he arrived in Zurich he walked right in on the beginning period of the DADA movement. (Kostelanetz 313) Marcel joined a group that called themselves avant-guard which had all united do to the anger of the war. Marcel was most popular for his African masks that were exhibited in the Cabaret Voltaire. 1921 After a short time in Paris, returned to Bucharest, worked in architecture and was active in the artist's groups. Janco’s buildings is in some ways gives you the same experience to looking at his abstract paintings in which the forms are perfectly composed within the space.(Zommer-Tal 72) He later moved to Palestine in which he lived until his death in 1984. Marcel Janco died on April 24 1984. Before he passed Marcel Janco was also a teacher who taught the arts arts. He left a large amount of oil paintings, drawings on many subjects as well as sketches, architectural plans, texts and a great heritage that will be researched for many years. (Zommer-Tal 73)

THE WORK OF ART

The wounded soldier was painted with water color on paper 1941-1948 on October 28th. Marcel Janco illustrates a soldier in a crouched potion with his head tuned upwards. With the uses of red sound the soldiers face and the red looking puddle on the ground the soldier would appear to be dead rather than just being wounded. The painting also shows the soldiers left leg missing a foot which could be the reason for the large red oval surrounding the body on the lower half. The soldier is also holding his weapon as if he is trying to prop himself back up even though he was some extreme wounds and is bleeding out.

MY REACTION

Coming from a background of experiencing war time, seeing this painting brings me back to when I was in Iraq. Although things for me were much quieter than it was for others may have experienced these type of images definitely crossed my mind several times. I chose this painting for the my theme of love because I see many sides to to this painting. One I see a soldier who has paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country and for some people they love their country so much that they would be honored to have done such a deed. On another side of this I see a soldier who lost a lot of love when taking on the responsibility of war. For me being in Iraq the conditions and working hours became physically and mental draining that I felt dead to the world at times. For Marcel to have painted a picture this way I think shows that he loved to show how he felt during this time of tragic events and that he was affected by them. This type of painting can show love in many different ways. Loving people that are willing to sacrifice their very own lives during war time to stand and fight for what they do truly belive in. The personal response this painting has on me is it symbolizes how much I hated being in war and also the damaging effects it has on people that I was very much afraid of happening during my tour.

WORK SITED

Kostelanetz, Richard. Dictionary of the Avant-gardes. Chicago: Cappella, 1993. Print.

"Lot 11682: 'The Wounded Soldier ' - Fine Art Auctions. Buying & Selling Israeli And Judaica Art – Hammersite.com." Lot 11682: 'The Wounded Soldier ' Web. 03 May 2012. <http://www.hammersite.com/Requestbid/11682.aspx>.

Zommer-Tal, Raya. "Marcel Janco AND THE DADA SPIRIT." International Panorama (2006): 72-73. Print.