La Mitrailleuse
- Artist: Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson
- Date: 1915
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 610 x 508 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is The Machine Gun by Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson, painted in 1915. Nevinson, who had been drawn to Italian futurism, was a WWI ambulance driver, and his experience reshaped his view. In this canvas, the front line is rendered as jagged, grey planes; the soldiers almost dissolve into the machine gun, as if becoming the machinery itself. The composition strips individuality, showing the dehumanized effect of trench warfare. Nevinson’s use of stark angles and muted tones emphasizes the mechanized horror of modern warfare. Though he had been part of the futurist movement, his war experience pushed him toward a more abstract, almost critical perspective. The piece was exhibited in 1916 and later acquired by the Contemporary Art Society. Its title—The Machine Gun—captures the central motif of mechanized fire that dominates the scene. The painting is a stark reminder of how war can strip humanity, turning men into machines.
See it in person
La Mitrailleuse is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
