OPCVL: Painting - Capture of the Sugar Factory

This painting was painted by Fortunino Matania on the 15th of September 1916 during the battle of Somme. Fortunino Matania was an Italian war painter who was widely known for his very realistic portrayal of WWI trench warfare and not only. This painting was created using only ink on a paper canvas.

I believe that this painting was created to illustrate the battlefield, allow others to glimpse the hardships of war and showcase what it meant to be to be a soldier in the war. The author chose to paint this scene because it allows for a visual representation of the events that is easily understood by others, also at that time, photo cameras were not widely available and did not produce good quality pictures. The photo cameras were quite bulky and big making them hard to use in the fast-paced situations like the battlefield.

This picture shows several soldiers, from both sides (allies and Germans) taking cover behind rubble and structures strewed around the wrecked landscape, shooting at each other. In addition, there are several dead or gravely wounded soldiers lying right next to their comrades who are fighting. Also, a soldier is shielding himself from a grenade blast. In the background there is a towering heap of rubble and warped metal that used to be a sugar refinery.

This source is valuable because of the time and place it was made, as it is created during the war and the painter had a first-hand view of the situation (was on the battlefield). This enables the author to give a very accurate description of what happened and allows them to paint what happened with much less bias and more accuracy than someone who was not there. This panting is also valuable today because it conveys information about the battle and what it was like to fight in the Great War. Therefore, the source is valuable because it is information rich and contains much less bias than if it had been painted to persuade people of something; it provides an objective view of the battlefield.

The painting showcases several new aspects of warfare that were introduced in the first world war. An example of this is the soldier about to throw a grenade and the explosion caused by another grenade. This shows the new technologies used in the war and how tactics adapted with the introduction of these new technological advancements (grenades could be used to draw soldiers from cover). It also showed how destructive the war was with only rubble surrounding the soldiers.

Some of the limitations of this image is that it may include bias from the painter because the painting could have been an interpretation of the painter’s perception of the battle and may not be completely objective. In addition, the painting may not contain all the details that a photo would. Another limitation, based on the purpose could be that the painter may over or under emphasize the scenes of the painting according to his personal belief. Lastly, this image is limited because when painting, some of the textures and details that one can see in real life can be lost. This may impair the viewer’s ability to accurately visualize what the battle scene was like.