Otto Dix: Art, War, and Courage Under Nazi Persecution

Introduction

At first glance, it would be relatively easy to want to turn away when shown some of Otto Dix's etchings and paintings. Indeed, Otto Dix was not an artist who held anything back. His art appears to be a combination of innate talent and a love for art, as well as his own lived experiences — in particular, his experience as a soldier on the German Front in World War I. When Dix's work is examined with an understanding of the social, historical, political, and biographical background that provided the impetus for his art, it becomes more than what some might term "horrific" or "dark."

Conceding that his work does show the horrific nature of war and the dark side of human nature and politics, it is nonetheless masterful in its capture of reality — sometimes with nothing more than a piece of paper and a pencil. Otto Dix was, above all, a brave artist who was not afraid to depict reality in his work despite the possibility of persecution, and despite the fact that the reality of his time was not a "pretty picture" — rather, it could be quite horrific.

Otto Dix was born in 1891 in Untermhaus, Germany, now part of the city of Gera. His parents were Franz and Louise Dix. His father was an ironworker and his mother was a seamstress who had written poetry in her youth. From a very young age, he was exposed to art through his mother's love of the arts and through the influence of another family member. His cousin, Fritz Amman, was also a painter, and young Otto greatly cherished the time he spent with him in the art studio. Additionally, Dix received encouragement from a grade school teacher who recognized his budding talent (Karcher, 20–25).

Early Life and Artistic Formation

From 1905 to 1909, Dix apprenticed in a design shop ("Otto Dix - Biography and Offers"). In 1909, he went on to more formal training at the Dresden School for Arts and Crafts, where he studied until 1914 ("Dix, Otto: 1891–1969"). While an apprentice, Dix was influenced by two exhibitions in particular: Van Gogh's exhibition in Dresden in 1912, and the Futurists exhibition of 1913 ("Dix, Otto – Biography from The Grove Dictionary of Art").

From 1912 to 1913, Dix produced seven self-portraits as well as several portraits of other people. In his self-portraits, he began employing techniques of the old masters, setting one layer of color upon another (Löffler, 292–293). Regarding portraits of others, Dix firmly believed the artist should remain objective, as he reflected on the artistic process:

"You know, if one paints someone's portrait, one should not know him if possible. No knowledge! I do not want to know him at all; I only want to see what is there, on the outside. The inner follows by itself. It is mirrored in the visible." (Dix Quotations)

Perhaps the most interesting mirror is the one Dix shows us of himself, in the stark disparity between his self-portraits of 1914 and 1915. His Self-Portrait as a Soldier (1914) demonstrated his enthusiasm for the war in its early months, while a year later his Self-Portrait as Shooting Target shows an entirely different man ("Expressions of Horror"). World War I would have an intense impact on Dix both as a man and as an artist.

World War I and Its Impact

In 1914, at the age of twenty-three, Dix felt compelled to volunteer for the German army and left art school to begin military training. Reflecting on this period later in life, he described the profound and lasting effect the war had on his psyche:

"As a young man you don't notice at all that you were, after all, badly affected. For years afterwards, at least ten years, I kept getting these dreams, in which I had to crawl through ruined houses, along passages I could hardly get through." ("Otto Dix Quotes – ArtinthePicture.com")

When one examines his work following his military service, it is clear that the Great War had a profound impact on his overall outlook and perspective of the world and of humanity. Dix witnessed some of the most horrific aspects of World War I, serving as a machine gun artilleryman on both the eastern and western fronts. He was injured several times; the worst injury occurred when shrapnel struck him in the neck, nearly killing him (McGreevy, 1).

Even military service did not deter Dix's passion for art. While a soldier, he created several etchings depicting the reality of the war's carnage. In 1916, he held his first exhibition of war drawings, and the style that emerged demonstrated a unique realism and social critique that would prove deeply reflective — in both style and content — of his later work ("Otto Dix." Britannica Concise).