biology

Self-Portrait as a Soldier

Self-Portrait as a Soldier is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Self-Portrait as a Soldier rather than just read about it. In short: Self-Portrait as a Soldier, or Selbstbildnis als Soldat, is an Expressionist oil-on-canvas painting by the German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Kirchner created this self-depiction in 1915, following his medical discharge from military service during the First World War.

Key takeaways

Self-Portrait as a Soldier belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Self-Portrait as a Soldier to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Self-Portrait as a Soldier from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Self-Portrait as a Soldier, or Selbstbildnis als Soldat, is an Expressionist oil-on-canvas painting by the German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Kirchner created this self-depiction in 1915, following his medical discharge from military service during the First World War. The artwork measures 69 centimetres in height by 61 centimetres in width. The painting was first exhibited in the 'Städtische Galerie' in Germany between 1916 and 1919 and currently resides at the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Ohio USA. Critical interpretations of the painting attribute its stark Expressionist style and myriad of symbolic elements to the socio-political turbulence of Germany during the First World War. Self Portrait as a Soldier may be viewed as testimony to Kirchner's volatile mental and physical health and as a critique of the chaotic instability of Germany during the early 20th century.

Subject matter Self Portrait as a Soldier depicts Kirchner as a gaunt and utilitarian soldier wearing the 75th Mansfeld Field Artillery Regiment uniform. He stands in an artist's studio, positioned prominently within the artwork's foreground. A nude female figure, situated in front of a black canvas, is depicted behind him. The soldier holds up the bloodied stump of his right hand, which is juxtaposed against depiction of his left hand as deformed and claw-like. The soldier's military uniform is painted using rich blue and red colours. Skin tones of both the soldier and female figure are a sickly yellow. The artwork has a cropped composition, created by framing the figures with bright orange and green hues used in the background. Both Kirchner and the nude female figure are not drawn to scale. The Allen Memorial Art Museum cites that the "soldier has an elongated face and other blurred features, while the woman's shoulders are disproportionate to that of a true human form."

Historical and socio-political context Kirchner's 'Self-Portrait as a Soldier' was painted in 1915, a year after the commencement of the First World War (WW1). The impetus for Germany's involvement in WW1 was its alliance with Austria-Hungary who declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The German invasion of Belgium in 1914 saw Britain declare war on Germany. The alliance system of WW1 pitted the Centrals Powers, encompassing Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria against the Allied Powers which compromised Russia, France, Great Britain and the United States. Throughout the war non-material and material living standards and civil liberties in Germany were extremely poor. Mary Cox's 'The First World War and the Blockade of Germany, 1914–1919' cites "that economic warfare in Germany was premeditated and designed to swiftly destroy German's entire economic and financial system." As well as "the destruction of Germany's communication and financial systems". Cox also states that "the blockade was to blame for the listlessness of German youth and their increased involvement in criminal activities". Matthias Blum contends that the "economic and physical deprivation" of WW1 left "deep scars of various kinds" upon Germany. Ultimately, Britain's naval blockade against Germany established to restrict the supply of food, oil and weaponry from 1914 to 1915 caused "deliberate starvation of citizens", disease and death amounting to comprehensive reduction of socio-cultural and political stability. Trench warfare characterised WW1 and resulted in extended periods of gunfire across trenches. Artillery fire caused what is now recognised as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The mental and physical health of soldiers was further jeopardised by the squalor of trenches where corpses, rats, poisonous water, freezing cold temperatures, disease and malnutrition were common. Kirchner was discharged from active military service due to physical and mental incapacity. Subsequently, he suffered from "war neurosis and depression" which fuelled drug and alcohol addictions leading to severely diminished health in the years following 1915.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Self-Portrait as a Soldier

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Self-Portrait as a Soldier claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Self-Portrait as a Soldier before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Self-Portrait as a Soldier ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Self-Portrait as a Soldier

In research: Self-Portrait as a Soldier appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Self-Portrait as a Soldier in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Self-Portrait as a Soldier is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1915 paintings, 20th-century portraits, Anti-war paintings, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Self-Portrait as a Soldier outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Self-Portrait as a Soldier in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Self-Portrait as a Soldier means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Self-Portrait as a Soldier out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Self-Portrait as a Soldier in simple terms?

Why does Self-Portrait as a Soldier matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Self-Portrait as a Soldier?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Self-Portrait as a Soldier.