the Great War Art of Georges Scott: Myth & Heroic Realism
French troops assault the village of Vermelles (1914)
Georges Scott (a French citizen in spite of the English-sounding name) was the son of an engraveur and illustrator. He started his career in the 1890s and worked as war correspondant for the newsmagazine 'l'Illustration' during the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. When war broke out in 1914, he was mobilised into the French army and was able to continue his work as artist-illustrator for that same prestigious publication, producing many renowed and now famous works dealing with the Great War
Georges Scott worked from sketches and photographs and also illustrated many heroic accounts which he read about in newspapers. At times he was not above creating a fictional, but heroic war scene. He was an illustrator foremost, producing work especially intended for the newsmedia. As such his images were deliberately patriotic and inspiring, with an element of 1870's Franco-Prussian War dash and glory thrown in for good measure. Then again, much of his later war work was highly realistic and accurate in regards to conditons at the front. He produced works in varied styles, using various mediums such as watercolors, chalk and pastels or oil paints.
As with Francois Flameng, most of his works were originally printed in lavish two-page color spreads in 'l'Illustration' or as cover pages and were reprinted in magazines and books in many countries, both during and after the war. Even German magazines were not above reprinting his illustrations during the war, though with slightly less inspiring French patriotic captions.
He continued a long and succesfull artistic career after the Armistice, still working as a war-correspondent/illustrator for 'l'Illustration' during the Spanish Civil War at the age of 65 and afterwards during the early part of the Second World War. Many of his original works are now in the 'Musée de l'Armée' in Paris and are still regularly exhibited.
- Bibliography
- (of modern-day books)
- 'La Premiere Guerre Mondiale Vue par les Peintres' by Frédéric Lacaille (pub Citédis 1998) ISBN 2-911920-11-2
- 'The Western Front Illustrated 1914-1918' by John Laffin (pub Suttin Publishing Ltd 1991) ISBN 0-7509-1438-6
- the Great War Art of Georges Scott : Myth & Realism
- Illustrations by Georges Scott
- taken from issues of the French newsmagazine 'l'Illustration'
- Magazine Covers (5 illustrations)
- 1914 (5 illustrations)
- 1915 (4 illustrations)
- Verdun (2 illustrations)
- Soldiers (2 illustrations0
- Play of Light and Dark (2 illustrations)
- Cantine (1 illustration)
- Artillery (2 illustrations)
- Headquarters (1 illustration)
- Belleau Wood (1 illustration)
- Armored Car Raid (1 illustration)
- Czech Volunteers (1 illustration)
- 1918 (1 illustration)
Texts by Georges Scott
- Trois Jours dans un Poste de Commandement (French language text)
- « La Guerre » de Georges Scott (French language text)
Later Work
New Additions
Under : an enlargment
