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Notes
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This painting, signed ‘Chas Pears’ and produced for the War Artists Advisory Committee, shows an action of June 1943 during the Second World War. The small rocky Italian island of Pantellaria lies midway between Tunisia and Sicily, some 140 miles north-west of Malta. Since early in the war it had been of strategic interest to the Allies, but with the surrender of the German forces in Tunisia it became an obvious target for combined British-American attack in spring 1943. Not only would it aid the supply of allied forces in the Middle East and particularly the vital base of Malta, but it would also provide an important base for the proposed invasion of Italy. It was blockaded and bombarded by sea and air until it finally surrendered on 11 June.
Pears’ focus on the dazzling June sunlight and hazy heat of the southern Mediterranean adds to the sense of unstoppable, glowing victory, while any involvement in the scale and human impact of the assault is deflected by the detached and distant viewpoint. The painting thus serves well its purpose for the War Artists Advisory Committee of both reporting the unfolding events of the war and raising morale for the British public. It was presented to the Museum by the War Artists Advisory Committee in 1946.
Title
Bombardment of Pantellaria, Italy, 11 June 1943
Date
c.1943
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 80.9 x W 127.2 cm
Accession number
BHC0683
Work type
Painting