Russian Prisoner of War, c. 1916

Although Anton Kolig (1886–1950) only became an official war painter in August 1917, but he had already spent the autumn of 1916 with the art troop of the 59th Mountain Brigade in Carinthia. He knew that his themes, apart from portraits, were not well-suited to making propaganda for the war. But in the hope of hitting upon suitable motifs he filled “a sketchbook full of drawings of soldier models.” It was clear to him that even this was not to the liking of his superior officers: “Each of the gentlemen wants something different, but none of them wants art,” was how he summed it up. Finally, in the camp for Serbian prisoners of war in Villach, he found motifs that inspired him. The result was a series of different types of prisoners and spontaneous portraits that testify to Kolig’s great assurance as a painter. The Serbian prisoner of war, melancholic and with a broken self-esteem, seems to avoid eye contact with the painter. Kolig focuses entirely on his face, indicating the background and uniform with only a few lines. It is notable that Kolig’s portraits of prisoners convey more emotions than those of Austrian soldiers and officers, who are mostly portrayed with a neutral tone.

AK, 2019