Ein blutiges Meer, An Gräbern ein heer... thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case MM, Shelf 8

Ein blutiges Meer, An Gräbern ein heer...

Poster
ca. 1919 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The threat of Bolshevism was a constant political refrain in inter-war Germany. People's paranoia was fostered by sensational posters such as this. The melodramatic image personifies Germany as a beseeching captive set against a red-stained sea, associating Communist red with blood and death. The graveyard also refers back to military losses in the First World War and to the idea that communism and socialism would betray the soldier's sacrifice.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Ein blutiges Meer, An Gräbern ein heer... (assigned by artist)
  • A Sea of blood, an Army to their graves... (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph printed in red and black
Brief description
Poster produced by an anti-Bolshevik league in Berlin, Germany, ca. 1919
Physical description
The central image is of a naked woman kneeling in a graveyard, her head is thrown back and her arms are raised in supplication. The background space is defined by three distinct areas: a sky dominated by swirling black clouds, a deep red expanse of horizon, and a field of cruciform grave markers. German text on three lines across the lower margin and four lines of text in the upper right.
Dimensions
  • Height: 116.1cm
  • Width: 81.1cm
Marks and inscriptions
'Ein blutiges Meer- / An Gräbern ein heer- / Das ist / Bolschewismus' (printed on four lines, upper right)
Translation
A sea od blood, an army to their graves - that is the Bolsheviks
Credit line
Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
The threat of Bolshevism was a constant political refrain in inter-war Germany. People's paranoia was fostered by sensational posters such as this. The melodramatic image personifies Germany as a beseeching captive set against a red-stained sea, associating Communist red with blood and death. The graveyard also refers back to military losses in the First World War and to the idea that communism and socialism would betray the soldier's sacrifice.
Other number
LS.249 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Accession number
E.1286-2004

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Record createdJune 11, 2004
Record URL
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