Gassed is an oil painting by American artist John Singer Sargent, depicting the aftermath of a mustard gas attack on the Western Front during World War I. It's the end of the day, and two processions of wounded soldiers walk towards a field hospital, out of view. Their eyes are bandaged due to the gas, so they are helped to their destination by medical orderlies. Despite their suffering, the soldiers manage to display bravery and dignity, walking tall and lit by the setting sun.
Sargent was commissioned by the British War Memorials Committee to document the Great War. In 1918, he was asked to memorialize the joint efforts of British and American troops on a large canvas. While he made many sketches of various scenes and activities, he was struck by the "harrowing sight" of a crowd of gassed and blindfolded men on the front lines.
The painting is very large, about 7 feet tall and 20 feet long. The soldiers in the central group are nearly life-sized. Completed in March 1919, it is one of Sargent's later paintings and a departure from the luxurious portraits he's most well-known for. The painting is currently held by the Imperial War Museum in Great Britain.
Tropes:
- Deadly Gas: Mustard gases are highly toxic and cause blisters and chemical burns, and this painting shows soldiers suffering after a gas attack.
- Eye Scream: The soldiers are blind from the effects of the gas, their eyes wrapped in bandages, and they have to be assisted by orderlies.
- Mood Dissonance: In the foreground are blind soldiers walking in a procession to a dressing station, surrounded by dead or wounded, after a mustard gas attack. In the background is a football match. The players are seemingly indifferent to the suffering of their peers, suggesting the gas attacks are routine occurrences.
- One-Word Title: The title is simply "Gassed".
- Verbed Title: The soldiers have been hit with a Deadly Gas.
- War Is Hell: Sargent witnessed the aftermath of a poison gas attack in northern France during the First World War and depicted on canvas what he saw on the field: crowded front lines, blind and injured soldiers being led away for medical treatment, and wounded and dying soldiers lying on the ground.
