![West End Wizardry, Glinda and Elphaba from Wicked, photograph. Witch in white facing witch in black.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_auto,q_glossy,ret_img,w_300,h_200/https://livingpaintings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Book-Clubs-West-End-Wizardry-Wicked-300x200.jpg)
![Album 1 The first collection of paintings from the National Gallery, Arnolfini Marriage by Jan van Eyck, 1434, oil on oak. Portrait of a wealthy couple holding hands in their bedchamber. The man on the left wears a long black gown and large brimmed top hat the lady on the right wears a fine green gown and frilled white veil. A small dog stands by her feet.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_auto,q_glossy,ret_img,w_300,h_230/https://livingpaintings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Album-1-The-First-Collection-of-Paintings-from-The-National-Gallery-Arnolfini-Marriage-300x230.jpg)
Suitable for: Book Clubs
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The horror of the Blitz is still remembered by people today. These two paintings were created during World War 2 whilst the Blitz was going on so the scenes are all too realistic reponses. Paul Nash has painted a ‘sea’ of metal – the twisted and torn remains of German aircraft which delivered death and destruction to so many cities. ‘Bedford Circus after the Blitz’ shows the result of a German raid on Exeter with beautiful Georgian buildings destroyed by fire.
Although the sky looks ominously grey, the sun shines through from the left, revealing a scene of destruction over much of the picture, but in the background, on the right, we see the cathedral of St Peter still dominating the horizon. This ancient cathedral miraculously escaped the bombing with relatively minor damage. One chapel and part of the south choir aisle of Exeter Cathedral were destroyed; however, the side shown in the picture was undamaged. In front of the Cathedral two leafy trees and some buildings also remain undamaged, creating a great contrast to the rest of the picture. The proximity of the cathedral to the area of devastation emphasises how close it too came to complete destruction.
The foreground of the picture is dominated by the rubble left by the bombing raid. Two large bare trees and many small green shrubs show what a pleasant area this must once have been.
Totes Meer painted by Paul Nash in 1094/1
Bedford Circus after the Blitz painted by AC Brown in 1942
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