Study for Carry On: Soldier

Object NameDrawing

Artist / Maker Christian Petersen (Danish - American, 1885 - 1961)

Date1942

Originu.s.a.

MediumGraphite on paper

Dimensions9 x 12 in. (22.9 x 30.5 cm)

ClassificationsDrawings

Credit LinePurchased by University Museums from Mary Petersen by the Christian Petersen Memorial Fund. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberum92.175

Status

Not on view

Collections

Label TextThe subject matter is war in several manifestations. The most affecting and, in Petersen’s oeuvre, unusual aspect of this sheet of drawings is the obvious emotional tone of three of the sketches. A bust-length portrait depicts a man in the uniform of a World War I soldier, with a medal pinned to his chest. He looks directly outward at us, his hair disheveled and his face holding a complex expression, but one that mainly speaks of distress. Nearby are two other studies of a seated soldier whose postures imply emotional fragility or despair. In the larger of the two, a medal can again be seen on the soldier’s chest.

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