No. 7 "The Restoration of Serbia" [From 'The Great War: Britain's Efforts And Ideals shown in a series of lithographic prints: 'The Ideals' series]

Artist Gerald Moira (1867 - 1959)

Date1917

MediumLithograph on paper

Dimensions68.6 x 43.8 cm

ClassificationsPrint

Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery. Donated by the British Ministry of Information. © The Estate of Gerald Moira.

Object number462

DescriptionThis is a six colour planographic print (lithograph) on paper, and is part of a series entitled 'The Great War: Britain's Efforts And Ideals shown in a series of lithographic prints: 'The Ideals' series. There are a total of six lithographs in this particular series, and in total there are ten series. The lithographs are numbered as if the entire ten series are one, so this print is number 7.

In this print we see steel girders and metal beams extending across the scene, supporting a chain and a ladder. This building site imagery is set amongst mountains and rolling hills filled with a large group of displaced people moving towards the foreground. Although Serbia won the first major battles of World War One including the Battle of Cer and Battle of Kolubara, it was overpowered by the Central Powers in 1915. In order to recover, the Serbian army and many of its people were exiled to Greece and Corfu. Moira has represented these displaced people as moving out of the scene, whilst their Balkan homeland is under ‘construction’. Behind the metal beams is the profile of a large statue of a woman, perhaps representing Mother Serbia. Gerald Moira worked in many different styles and mediums always using glorious, daring colours. He is considered a member of the school of J.W. Waterhouse, R.A. In 1898 art writer and critic Gleeson White defined this school of art is by “…the use of brilliant pigments and the choice of poetic themes for a treatment which is neither wholly archaic nor wholly realistic.”11 His Pre-Raphaelite influences can also be seen in his use of strong line and colour, particularly in the patterns on the clothing of the masses. They form a solemn procession and are wearing brightly coloured traditional attire. The use of vibrant pigments when painting rural landscape may be seen in other works by Moira including On the Edge of Dartmore and Highland Landscape, particularly in the blues and purples of the mountain ranges, and the burning oranges and reds of the cultivated hills. Although Moira himself never visited the lands of his parent’s origin and was enamoured with the English countryside, painting outdoors in Chislehurst Kent from an early age with his father, these colours speak of the landscapes of his Portuguese and Spanish heritage.
Ruth Keating 2014

Moira was born in London, the son of a Portuguese miniature painter, under the name Giraldo de Moura. He studied painting at the Royal Academy Schools and then in Paris. His work is known for its Pre-Raphaelite influences.
This print depicts what appears to be a building site with a large group of displaced people passing through it. Metal beams and other building materials cut across the view of a large statue of a woman. It is a rural setting with roaming fields and mountains in the background.

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