One look at this painting and I can tell that it is certainly not a happy scene. The first thing that i noticed was that the men were wearing tattered clothing and helmets. This showed that these men have endured much throughout this war. Second, I noticed that they seem to be staring at a dead tree perhaps. I took this tree to be a landmark of where they could have buried one or more of the friends that they lost during this war. The use of dark colors creates a very solemn and gloomy mood. The title itself, "The Morning After" implies that there must have been a battle of some sort the day before and now these men have come to mourn the deaths of their friends. The artist, Reed, painted this the morning after many of his friends were killed by a German bomb. He said "I painted these men with dazed looks, and clouds up above that seemed to reach like a dragon, like in the Goya's Disasters of War. Everything seemed to be tragic, terrible, and meaningless."
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Morning After By Ed Reep
One look at this painting and I can tell that it is certainly not a happy scene. The first thing that i noticed was that the men were wearing tattered clothing and helmets. This showed that these men have endured much throughout this war. Second, I noticed that they seem to be staring at a dead tree perhaps. I took this tree to be a landmark of where they could have buried one or more of the friends that they lost during this war. The use of dark colors creates a very solemn and gloomy mood. The title itself, "The Morning After" implies that there must have been a battle of some sort the day before and now these men have come to mourn the deaths of their friends. The artist, Reed, painted this the morning after many of his friends were killed by a German bomb. He said "I painted these men with dazed looks, and clouds up above that seemed to reach like a dragon, like in the Goya's Disasters of War. Everything seemed to be tragic, terrible, and meaningless."
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Jack, are you still checking your blog? If so, I have some information about this painting for you that should interest you - I am the artist's daughter. for the complete story, check out my blog. My dad died this year at 94. The incident referred to that made my dad feel cowardly is what led him to paint The Morning After. http://susanreep.com/blog/2011/12/saving-a-life-in-world-war-ii-an-unexpected-tale-over-50-years-later/
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