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'Orpen at War'

Patricia O'Reilly

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Description:ORPEN AT WAR – In the chaos of the First World War, an artist witnesses the grim reality of battle. Bombarded by artillery, dodging bullets, crawling through the trenches, William Orpen paints the war. He sees the best and the worst of humanity. This is his story. WILLIAM ORPEN, one of the official British war artists, goes to the war in high spirits, complete with a batman, an aide, a Rolls-Royce and a driver. Nothing in his privileged life prepares him for the conditions of war and he cannot capture the reality of war on canvas. His creative turning point is a self-portrait titled Ready to Start and from then his output is prolific – officers, Tommies, German prisoners, trenches “full of rats and lice, stinking baths of mud, and water that goes as high as a man’s waist”. He misses home and relives meeting his wife GRACE while on holiday in Vattetot with a group of artists and he recalls happy times with his mistress EVELYN ST GEORGE. As the ravages of war wear him down he turns to alcohol. Delicate from childhood he is often unwell with fevers – a gnashed leg leads to blood poisoning and he ends up in hospital where he meets young volunteer nurse YVONNE AUPICQ from Lille. He is smitten and she succumbs to his charms. He submits a scantily clad painting of her titled The Spy to the assessor for the War Artists Scheme. Realising it was an impetuous gesture and concerned about the questions it might raise, he paints another of her, attired modestly titled The Refugee. The portraits raise questions and he is summonsed to a meeting in London at the War Office. He never discloses what happened behind those closed door, but was relieved at his narrow escape from being recalled from France or, even worse, a court martial.When he is commissioned to paint the Paris Peace Conference. He settles in Paris taking rooms in the Majestic Hotel, studio space in the Astoria and an apartment for Yvonne and his driver. The third painting is the epic To the Unknown British Soldier in France, hailed by some as “symbolic”; by more as a “blasphemous disgrace”. Evelyn’s suggestion of “painting over” and presenting the painting to Lord Haig is the solution that saves his reputation. Depressed at the ending of the war, he is consumed by its futility and what he considers the fighting men’s betrayal by the politicians. He makes a generous settlement on Yvonne, and divides his time between Paris and London where he resumes his successful career of portrait painting. Alienated from his family and Evelyn, he dies in 1931 of alcohol related illnesses.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with 'Orpen at War'. To get started finding 'Orpen at War', you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: 282

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: The Liffey Press

Release: 2022

ISBN

Description: ORPEN AT WAR – In the chaos of the First World War, an artist witnesses the grim reality of battle. Bombarded by artillery, dodging bullets, crawling through the trenches, William Orpen paints the war. He sees the best and the worst of humanity. This is his story. WILLIAM ORPEN, one of the official British war artists, goes to the war in high spirits, complete with a batman, an aide, a Rolls-Royce and a driver. Nothing in his privileged life prepares him for the conditions of war and he cannot capture the reality of war on canvas. His creative turning point is a self-portrait titled Ready to Start and from then his output is prolific – officers, Tommies, German prisoners, trenches “full of rats and lice, stinking baths of mud, and water that goes as high as a man’s waist”. He misses home and relives meeting his wife GRACE while on holiday in Vattetot with a group of artists and he recalls happy times with his mistress EVELYN ST GEORGE. As the ravages of war wear him down he turns to alcohol. Delicate from childhood he is often unwell with fevers – a gnashed leg leads to blood poisoning and he ends up in hospital where he meets young volunteer nurse YVONNE AUPICQ from Lille. He is smitten and she succumbs to his charms. He submits a scantily clad painting of her titled The Spy to the assessor for the War Artists Scheme. Realising it was an impetuous gesture and concerned about the questions it might raise, he paints another of her, attired modestly titled The Refugee. The portraits raise questions and he is summonsed to a meeting in London at the War Office. He never discloses what happened behind those closed door, but was relieved at his narrow escape from being recalled from France or, even worse, a court martial.When he is commissioned to paint the Paris Peace Conference. He settles in Paris taking rooms in the Majestic Hotel, studio space in the Astoria and an apartment for Yvonne and his driver. The third painting is the epic To the Unknown British Soldier in France, hailed by some as “symbolic”; by more as a “blasphemous disgrace”. Evelyn’s suggestion of “painting over” and presenting the painting to Lord Haig is the solution that saves his reputation. Depressed at the ending of the war, he is consumed by its futility and what he considers the fighting men’s betrayal by the politicians. He makes a generous settlement on Yvonne, and divides his time between Paris and London where he resumes his successful career of portrait painting. Alienated from his family and Evelyn, he dies in 1931 of alcohol related illnesses.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with 'Orpen at War'. To get started finding 'Orpen at War', you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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'Orpen at War'

'Orpen at War'

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