Item 003/78 - Arras

1 item, 4 canvases

The Arras paintings stem mostly from the landscapes around Vimy Ridge. The remarkable monument on top of the ridge, designed by Walter Seymour Allward, can be seen on the horizon behind the paintings. Most of the studies made in Arras depicted trees, but despite repeated attempts to include them in this painting they had to be removed. The focus of the image, instead, is the ridge itself, drawn from this spot very hurriedly.

Initial work in this location was done when the field had just been ploughed and was devoid of crops - rather different from when the finished paintings returned to the site.

The Unknown Warrior was chosen for Westminster Abbey in 1920, from four unknown warriors who fought for Britain during the First World War, and who died in four different battle areas. In the summer of 2017 the artist spent time in the four locations (the Aisne, the Somme, Arras and Ypres), making studies of the landscapes as they are now. This oil painting is one of a series of four stemming from these visits. This painting has been made across four separate canvases, one for each unknown warrior and each canvas is the same size as a Commonwealth War Grave (2 ft 6 in. in height and 1 ft 3 in. in width).

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https://johnwoodman.com/the-unknown-warrior/lands-of-unknown-warriors

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