Artwork Information

  • Title:

    Flirey

  • Artist:

    Poire, Leopold

  • Artist Bio:

    French, 1879–1917

  • Date:

    1915

  • Medium:

    Etching

  • Dimensions:

    12 x 8 3/4 inches

  • Credit Line:

    Wichita Art Museum, C.A. Seward Memorial Collection

  • Object Number:

    2017.23.63

  • Display:

    Not Currently on Display


About the Artwork

Lйopold Poirй

French, 1879–1917

 

Flirey, 1915

Etching

Wichita Art Museum, C.A. Seward Memorial Collection

2017.23.63

Located in northeastern France near the German border, the town of Flirey experienced nearly continuous fighting throughout World War I. The town’s church was destroyed in September 1914, mere weeks into the four-year conflict. In Lйopold Poirй’s print, the bombed church is a hollowed out corpse, a stand-in for dead soldiers and civilians.