In Portrait of a German Officer, how is the Painting of the Description elucidated?
Hartley's painting is highly sequential, symbolic, and heavily influenced by cubism and the school of German expressionism. The black, white, and red flag of the German Empire is placed in a prominent position in the bottom central portion of the image, while the Iron Cross (a decoration which Freyburg was awarded) is prominently featured in the top-center. The blue and white checkered flag of Freyburg's home state of Bavaria is also shown, as is an officer's white-striped epaulet. Hartly also included more personal details in the portrait; the number 24 represents Freyburg's age when he died, Freyburg's initials (K.v.F) are seen in gold-on-red, Freyburg's regimental number (4) can be seen in center of the portrait, and a spur (representing Freyburg's service as a cavalry officer) can be seen in the bottom right of the image. Hartfield also represented Germany's enemies during the war through his inclusion of the English Cross of St. George and the Belgian Tricolor, both seen at the bottom of the portrait.
Bavaria epaulet cubism Iron Cross German expressionism English Cross of St. George Belgian Tricolor portrait spur