To the Slaughterhouse
1903
In this biting 1903 cover for the satirical magazine Le Canard Sauvage, Félix Vallotton depicts a chaotic scene of military brutality titled 'At the Slaughterhouse.' A group of soldiers, rendered in stark slate-blue, are shown bayoneting and slashing a civilian figure, with splashes of red emphasizing the violence. The caption 'Unity Makes Strength' at the bottom adds a layer of dark irony, suggesting that the military's unity results in the slaughter of the people. Vallotton uses bold, simplified forms and a limited color palette to create a powerful, graphic anti-militarist statement that feels surprisingly modern.
Views: 6