All war is terrible, and we are daily horrified by the pictures coming from Ukraine. It is difficult to know what to do, and that feeling of helplessness and our concern at the suffering of the Ukrainian people is with us every day
The horrors of war were again brought home to us by a lecture at the British Institute in Florence this week about two expatriate Americans who loved the city in which we now live in the winter months: the novelist Henry James and the painter John Singer Sargent. A fascinating subject, interestingly presented by Mark Roberts, former librarian of the Institute.
But one painting (above) by Sargent, which Mark showed, and which I’ve seen before, really moved me and highlighted of the horrors of war even more than the most descriptive writing. It is called ‘Gassed’ and it shows ten soldiers, blinded bygas in the First World War, helping each other to stumble along. It never ceases to move me: this picture certainly says more than a thousand words about the cruelty and futility of war.
So, today’s Watermill blog is dedicated to the people of Ukraine, with a prayer for the end of their suffering.