Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H , Case WD, Shelf 187

Soldiers erecting camouflage at Roclincourt near Arras

Drawing
1918 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Roberts, William (painter (artist))

This watercolour by William Roberts (1895-1980) shows a working party putting up camouflage screens at night in the city of Rolincourt in France near the front line during the First World War of 1914-1918). For two years between 1916 and 1918 Roberts served in the British army and was appointed an Official War Artist. This powerful image is partly representational and partly abstract in style. The physical exertion is expressed in the strong diagonal lines of the limbs of the men as well as the ladders and sheets of camouflage material.


Object details

Categories
Drawings
Paintings
SCRAN
Object type
Drawing
TitleSoldiers erecting camouflage at Roclincourt near Arras (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Pen, Indian ink, watercolour and red crayon
Indian Ink
Watercolour (Paint)
Crayon
Drawing
Wash Technique
Watercolour Painting (Technique)
Brief description
Soldiers erecting camouflage at Roclincourt, near Arras. Drawing by William Roberts, 1918.
Physical description
Drawing showing soldiers erecting a sheet of camouflage between two trees on a battlefield. Three of the soldiers are up ladders, hanging the camouflage sheet; another is standing on the ground, his hands raised.
Dimensions
  • Height: 40.6cm
  • Width: 34.9cm
Dimensions taken from Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1962. London: HMSO, 1964.
Style
Vorticism
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'William Roberts' (Signed)
  • 'Arras, The Village of Roclincourt. Working party putting up camouflage screens at night near the Front Line.' (A label on the background bears an inscription in the artist's hand)
Credit line
Given by E. M. O'R. Dickey, CBE
Object history
It is reproduced in Charles Marriott, Modern Movements in Painting, 1920, p.255.
Production
The date 1918 has been supplied by the artist, from whom the donor bought the watercolour in 1919.
Subjects depicted
War
Soldier
Battlefield
Ladder
World War I
Place depicted
Roclincourt
Summary
This watercolour by William Roberts (1895-1980) shows a working party putting up camouflage screens at night in the city of Rolincourt in France near the front line during the First World War of 1914-1918). For two years between 1916 and 1918 Roberts served in the British army and was appointed an Official War Artist. This powerful image is partly representational and partly abstract in style. The physical exertion is expressed in the strong diagonal lines of the limbs of the men as well as the ladders and sheets of camouflage material.
Bibliographic references
  • 100 Great Paintings in The Victoria & Albert Museum. London: V&A, 1985, p.190
  • Arnaldo, Javier ¡1914! La Vanguardia Y La Gran Guerra, Madrid : Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza : Fundación Caja Madrid, 2008. no.167
  • Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1962. London: HMSO, 1964.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
P.94-1962

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O17811/soldiers-erecting-camouflage-at-roclincourt-drawing-roberts-william/
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