Visions Plate 13: Pegasus Forced into Military Service by Max Slevogt

Art work details

Original Title :

Pegasus in Kriegsdienst

Year of production :

1917

Artist:

Max Slevogt

Medium :

Original print, Lithograph

Materials:

Ink, Paper

Dimensions :

height: 26.7 cms; width: 37.7 cms

Credit Line :

Purchased from Mrs Monika Kinley with MGC/V&A Purchase Grant Fund assistance

Associated Groups :

Berliner Secession

Tags:

Lithograph, World War I, Animals, War, Slevogt, Visions

Plate 13 from ‘Visions’, 1916-17.

In this powerful image, Slevogt depicts the mythical winged horse Pegasus stripped of its heroic status and power. The same creature that Perseus rode to rescue Andromeda is now wretched, its proud head hung low and its wings tightly bound. A demonic rider rains vicious blows down on Pegasus, as the creature drags a heavy cannon through the battlefield.

In the humbling of Pegasus, Slevogt shows us how war indiscriminately destroys art and culture, leaving behind a soulless wasteland.