Gassed

John Singer Sargent

Oil on canvas

Imperial War Museum

Gassed is a monumental oil painting depicting the harrowing aftermath of a mustard gas attack on the Western Front during the First World War. A long frieze of blinded British soldiers, each man with bandaged eyes and a hand on the shoulder of the man ahead, is led by an orderly toward a field dressing station, while a football match continues incongruously in the background. Sargent — celebrated as the leading portrait painter of his generation and known for his bravura technique and Impressionist-inflected brushwork — witnessed this scene at Le Bac-du-Sud on the Arras-Doullens Road in August 1918 while serving as an official British war artist. Completed in March 1919 and voted picture of the year by the Royal Academy, the painting stands as one of the most powerful and enduring works of art produced in response to the First World War.