Description
Raemaekers: In Belgium Help 1916. Dr. John Johnson comments Another artist of note to take up the cause of Belgium refugees was the Dutchman Louis Raemaekers, who contributed this iconographic scene of a Madonna and child on the simply titled In Belgium Help . The sharp brush strokes of Raemaekers’ painting accentuate the pain felt by a forlorn Belgian woman and her frightened infant. In the view of J. Aulich and J. Hewitt, Raemaekers’ “image of Belgian victims conveys the right degree of pathos and helplessness in order to elicit the required public response”…] The coloring is simple: black, white, with a flash of red in her cloak all set against a golden background that in its jaggedness suggests the flames or destruction taking place behind these troubled beings. Lettering is clear and simple, set within a wide border of deep brown. The pitiful scene is meant to motivate giving “for relief in Belgium.” According to Darracott, the poster was probably produced shortly after Raemaekers moved to England (1916). 38×24 near mint, conservation backed.
[1] Aulich and Hewitt, 75, plate 16.
