The Sower

The Sower
This painting is trying to influence how people see war. It depicts a scene of brutality with distorted and warped bodies in what looks like a barren wasteland. The figure in the front of the image is not human and Gleeson is saying that neither is war. There are quite a few skulls present in the image and I think these symbolise the people who died in war. Because Gleeson was born during World War I his earliest experiences were with people who were in that warr or remember war vividly, and then, just when he began to paint the Second World War began.

This artwork is very confronting and as soon as I saw it I knew there had to be a very emotional story behind it. Gleeson has managed to capture the horrors and atrocities that are war. When i first saw this artwork i didn't fully undertand what was going on but then when I researched it more and looked again i saw things I didnt realise where there at first. My interprtation is that this piece of art is telling a harrowing story from the perspective of a young boy who grows up surrounded by war and its effects on the people around him. The monstosity that is war will never leave the minds of those who were invloved and my understanding of this painting came from my understanding of war.

Three elements from the artwork that created meaning and impacted my understanding were the multiple skulls in picture, these created meaning because of they symbolised all the men who dies for their countries. another element was the metamorphisis of the figure. This helped my understanding because it showed that because of all the horrible things the soldiers saw they were never the same again. Elements of the human body also showed me that although some of the things the soldiers did in the war were monstrous they are still human and were just doing what they felt was their duty.