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Notes
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The Wellcome Library has many paintings and photographs of the First World War. Apart from its effects on other countries, the War transformed Great Britain in many ways: changes in women's roles, the loss of a generation of young men, and the development of medical radiography, to name but three. The Wellcome pharmaceutical company scaled up enormously its production of vaccines and antitoxins for the armed forces, and Henry S. Wellcome was keen to collect documents recording the war, among them this painting. It shows a French front-line hospital at the battle of Verdun. This terrible battle between the armies of Germany and France lasted 11 months over 1916 and 1917 and ended in over 750,000 casualties. Many people in England received their impression of the war through the eyes of illustrators such as Ugo Matania, who painted this picture.
Title
First World War: A French Underground Hospital at Verdun
Date
1917
Medium
oil on board
Measurements
H 36.8 x W 56 cm
Accession number
45950i
Acquisition method
purchased by Henry S. Wellcome, c.1900–1936
Work type
Painting
Inscription description
Ugo 1917