Of course, there was a kind of mass enthusiasm at the start. But this
intoxication soon evaporated, leaving a huge vacuum....And then
after a few years when everything bogged down, when we were de-
feated, when everything went to pieces, all that remained, at least for
me and most of my friends, were disgust and horror.^27
Grosz produced numerous paintings and drawings, such as Fit
for Active Service (FIG. 35-42), that were caustic indictments of the
military. In these works, he often depicted army officers as heartless
or incompetent. This particular drawing may relate to Grosz’s per-
sonal experience. On the verge of a nervous breakdown in 1917, he
was sent to a sanatorium where doctors examined him and, much to
his horror, declared him “fit for service.” In this biting and sarcastic
drawing, an army doctor proclaims the skeleton before him “fit for
service.” The other officers or doctors attending do not dispute this
evaluation. The spectacles perched on the skeleton’s face, very simi-
lar to the gold-rimmed glasses Grosz wore, further suggest he based
this scene on his experiences. Grosz’s searing wit is all the more evi-
dent upon comparing Fit for Active Service with Marsden Hartley’s
Portrait of a German Officer (FIG. 35-34). Although Hartley’s paint-
ing deals with the death of his lover in battle, the incorporation of
colorful German military insignia and emblems imbues the painting
with a more heroic, celebratory tone. In contrast, the simplicity of
Grosz’s line drawing contributes to the directness and immediacy of
the work, which scathingly portrays the German army.MAX BECKMANNLike Grosz,Max Beckmann(1884–1950)
enlisted in the German army and initially rationalized the war. He
believed the chaos would lead to a better society, but over time the
massive death and destruction increasingly disillusioned him. Soon
his work began to emphasize the horrors of war and of a society he
saw descending into madness. His disturbing view of society is evi-
dent in Night (FIG. 35-43), which
depicts a cramped room three in-
truders have forcibly invaded. A
bound woman, apparently raped,
is splayed across the foreground of
the painting. Her husband appears
on the left. One of the intruders
hangs him, while another one
twists his left arm out of its socket.
An unidentified woman cowers in
the background. On the far right,
the third intruder prepares to flee
with the child.
Although this image does not
depict a war scene, the violence and
wrenching brutality pervading the
home are a searing and horrifying
comment on society’s condition.
Beckmann also injected a personal35-42George Grosz,Fit for Active Service,1916–1917. Pen and
brush and ink on paper, 1 8 1 23 – 8 . Museum of Modern Art,
New York (gift of the American Tobacco Company, Inc.). Art © Estate
of George Grosz/Licensed by VAGA, New York.
In a drawing that is an indictment of the German army and based on
Grosz’s personal experience, a doctor proclaims the skeleton before
him “fit for service,” and no one disputes his evaluation.35-43Max Beckmann,
Night,1918–1919. Oil on canvas,
4 43 – 8 5 ^1 – 4 . Kunstsammlung
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf.
Beckmann’s treatment of forms and
space in Nightmatched his view of
the brutality of early-20th-century
society. Objects seem dislocated and
contorted, and the space appears
buckled and illogical.Europe, 1920 to 1945 9411 in.
1 ft.