Art: A Taube

This is A Taube by English painter Christopher R.W. Nevinson. During the Great War, aircraft became an instrument of war for the first time. One of the things planes were used for during World War I was bombings. Often, these aerial bombing raids would be carried out against not just military targets, but civilian targets. The Taube was one of the earliest bombing planes developed by Germany, and it was used to drop bombs right on top of population centers. With this painting, Nevinson denounces the German airforce - the Taube and its attacks against civilian populations - even though such attacks were more often carried out by airships such as the Zeppelin, and allied planes carried out bombing raids against German towns just as frequently. Perhaps the artist is trying to make a statement against war, due to the cruel consequences it brings about.