Brothers in Arms : Exploring Masculinity, Identity, and Commemoration through the military portraits of Vere and Vyvyan Harmsworth

Sammanfattning

Adopting a military art history perspective, this study examines how masculinity, identity, and commemorative practices are active within and perpetuated by the military portraits of Vere and Vyvyan Harmsworth from 1916. These themes are explored through an analysis of five portraits painted by Hungarian artist Philip de László, alongside archival materials dating from the First World War, including photographs, written correspondence, and obituaries. This study employs the theoretical frameworks of performativity and critical masculinity, as well as connective memory from the field of memory studies. The primary methods employed are visual and material analysis, bolstered by select object biographies. The study explores the presence of ideals of masculinity and varied identities in these portraits and the supporting archival material. It is ultimately argued that this manifold presence creates tension between the artist’s intention to depict truth, the resulting portraits as historical artefacts situated in a specific time and place, and the nature of portraiture as a performance. Furthermore, it is argued that these ideals and identities are socially constructed while aspects of them also reflect the horrific, liminal circumstances in which First World War soldiers fought and, in many cases, died. British society and military hierarchical structures are directly implicated in this construction and perpetuation. Finally, the two main portraits are considered as objects of memory and devotion within the context of a diptych. This context relates directly to commemorative practices during and after the war which invoke strong Christian themes. This study finds that such practices were undertaken to overcome the physical absence resulting from the enormous losses endured by British society between 1914 and 1918. It further argues that they were undertaken to satisfy a desire for spiritual presence in both public and private contexts in light of such immense loss.