7. Otto Dix – Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas 1924
When the First World War erupted, the artist enthusiastically volunteered for the German Army. In November 1917, his unit was transferred to the Eastern front until the end of hostilities with Russia, and in February 1918 he was stationed in Flanders. Back on the western front, he fought in the German Spring Offensive. He earned the Iron Cross, and reached the rank of vizefeldwebel. In August of that year the artist was wounded in the neck, and shortly after he took pilot training lessons. Dix was discharged from service in December 1918. The artist was profoundly affected by the sights of the war, and later described a recurring nightmare in which he crawled through destroyed houses. Dix represented his traumatic experiences in many subsequent works, including a portfolio of fifty etchings called Der Krieg, published in 1924.