1914

Wounded Soldier

French (born Vitebsk, Russian Empire), 1887 - 1985

Made in Vitebsk shortly after the outbreak of World War I, this grim, expressive painting comes from a series that marks Chagall’s most direct commentary on contemporary global events. In sickly green and brown hues, a pallid infantryman supports his injured arm in a sling, while behind him three disoriented compatriots stumble along, possibly as a result of exposure to chemical gas warfare. As Vitebsk was a growing city with a major railway station, Chagall would have witnessed firsthand the troop movements of the Imperial Russian Army heading to and from the nearby Eastern Front.