Otto Dix

The Great War Through the Eyes of an Artist How does one depict art? Art has been around since the dawn of man. A form of self-expression, a way to creatively put down ones ideals in hopes of creating a masterpiece, and where ever there has been art there has been an artist. In society the artist is a very important person able to utilize his work and make the people think and question the higher power. Out of the entire artistic association of the world and over the entire timeline of history one has stood out to me. A man who essentially went to hell and back, a man who put what he saw down so that he could warn others of the tragedies of the World War One world. Scarred for life and haunted by flash-backs of the killings; the brutality, the rapes, and the utter destruction of whole towns and cities Otto Dix struggled to remake these memories onto his art. Dix as an artist was not only influenced by World War One but as a true artist Dix in return changed the view of war to all peoples forever. Otto Dix was born Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix on December 2, 1891 to Ernst Franz Dix and Pauline Louise Dix. Wilhelm was the eldest son of the four surviving children in the Dix Family, although his older brother would die seven years before Otto’s’ birth and his youngest sibling would die within a year of her life (art-directory). He was raised in Untermhaus, Germany, located on the outskirts of Gera. Franz Dix was an iron foundry worker and Louise was a seamstress as well as a retired poet. Franz taught his children how the social classes functioned and how there would always be someone above them, as well as someone below them. While Franz’s side of the family taught Otto the social side of life, Louise’s side of the family taught Otto the cultered side of society. Otto’s cousin Fritz Amann was the first to introduce Otto to art. Otto was quoted saying “The wonderful smell of oil paints and lacquers,” ( ). Otto said this near the end of his life as he