War Art: Henry Tonks: Saline Infusion

Henry Tonks: Saline Infusion: An incident in the British Red Cross Hospital, Arc-en-Barrois, 1915

Object description

image: A patient undergoing a saline infusion on a hospital ward in northern France. The wounded man lies in bed propped up on pillows, his taut upper body and tight neck muscles revealing the pain he experiences as the doctor sitting beside him appears to make an incision in his abdomen. Another doctor stands gently but firmly holding the patient's lower arm. A female nurse watches on, standing beside a saline drip.

Label

Henry Tonks was a surgeon before becoming an established artist and teacher at the Slade School of Art. During the war he served as a RAMC doctor and worked with Sir Harold Gillies, one of the pioneers of plastic surgery. Tonks drew studies of facial injuries before and after surgery, requiring accuracy, attention to detail and emotional understanding. These qualities are evident in 'Saline Infusion', where the pain of the patient is transmitted through the precisely-rendered tautness of his upper body. The delicacy of the pastel medium, which reflects the mute compassion of the medical staff, contrasts with the hard tension in the man's muscles.

Inscription

H T 1915

Catalogue number

• Art.IWM ART 1918

Subject period

First World War

Production date

1915

Materials

• medium: pastel
• support: paper

Dimensions

• Support: Height 679 mm
• Support: Width 520 mm

Alternative Names

• object category: drawing

Creator

• Tonks, Henry

Category

art

Gift of the artist, 1919

(source: 

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/26419)

Although 'Saline Infusion' is a powerful image and shows the preoccupying concerns of the 'Artist Surgeon,' for me, more moving, touching and powerful are the paintings and drawings that he made of those with facial injuries. Documenting a journey from abject facial decimation through the re-constructive process of surgery, Tonks deals with his subjects with dignity and respect, and with the clarity and precision of a surgeons eye. Here I will share with you some of these incredible images.

 

'Are they beautiful, and can they be fairly described as art? Yes to both, in my opinion. Though Tonks himself balked at the idea that any spectator would be morbid enough to view these sketches from an aesthetic viewpoint, it’s tough to avoid doing so. Pastel, a soft sketching medium forever associated with polite 18^th century society portraits, and the elegantly posed ballet dancers of Degas, seems a significant choice of tool – almost ironic. The rich pigments in his hands easily lend themselves to rendering the glimmers of light on recent scar tissue, his reds and pinks allowing us to really feel the angry absences of destroyed sections of face. The beauty of his handling of the colours and forms can only serve to make us feel more sickened by what we’re witnessing.'

(source: http://peterjamesfield.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/four-great-20th-century-british-realist.html)

For details on Sir Harold Gillies and his pioneering work check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Gillies

Further reading:

http://ampersandmagazine.com.au/feature-articles/the-portraiture-of-loss/