This is one of the most famous artworks of the First World War, John Singer Sargent’s Gassed. In recent decades, Gassed was interpreted as a very yellow painting. But it didn’t always look like that.
The yellow effect comes from a discoloured varnish from the 1970s, concealing Sargent’s intentions and skewing our interpretation of his work. Now, thanks to meticulous conservation efforts as part of IWM’s new Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries, Gassed and its meaning have been reborn.
Today we’re going to examine the history of Gassed, what it means, why it’s important, and how that has changed over 100 years on display.
Plan your visit to IWM's Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries: https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/blavatnik-art-film-and-photography-galleries
Find out more about Gassed: https://www.iwm.org.uk/gassed-by-john-singer-sargent
See more British War Artist work: https://www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources/british-art-of-the-first-world-war
View high resolution scan of Gassed: https://highres.factumfoundation.xyz/Sargent_Gassed/shared/viewer.html
Attributions:
Gassed scans by Factum Foundation for Imperial War Museums
Virtual Hall of Remembrance created by immersive technology studio Infinite Form for IWM for the centenary of the armistice
Explore and licence the film clips used in this video from IWM Film:
https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/collections/4149
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