The Wounded Soldiers
The Wounded Israeli IDF Soldiers
Original Fine Art Pastel on Paper • Regional Portraiture Series
🎨 Artwork Specifications & Curation
| Title: | The Wounded Soldier 2 |
| Medium: | Pastel on Paper (With expressive, tactile blending and graphic linework) |
| Dimensions: | 10 × 9.75 inches |
| Thematic Focus: | Maternal Commiseration, Human Cost of Conflict, Wartime Brotherhood |
“Combat soldiers have a very special relationship to one another. They are brothers. They look out for and feel responsible for each other. A combat soldier would give his life to save a combat brother… They are all my children whom I wish to protect, to hug to keep safe.”
— Ednah Sarah Schwartz
In this deeply moving and emotionally charged pastel work, Ednah Sarah Schwartz explores the profound psychological bonds, unspoken loyalty, and vulnerability inherent within military service. The Wounded Soldier 2 acts as an intimate exploration of combat brotherhood, capturing the raw intensity of an environment where survival depends entirely on absolute collective sacrifice. Schwartz translates this complex, localized reality into a universal commentary on companionship, responsibility, and human endurance.
The composition uses the raw, tactile qualities of pastel on paper to evoke a striking sense of vulnerability. Expressive mark-making and deeply layered, blended tones highlight the physical and emotional weight borne by the figures. By balancing stark, heavy contour lines with softer fields of color, Schwartz captures a powerful psychological duality—contrasting the protective intensity of a combat unit with an overwhelming maternal longing to safeguard and embrace these figures, viewing them all as children caught within the machinery of war.
“The visceral application of pastel captures an intense dynamic of empathy, honoring an internal world of mutual protection and sacrifice that outsiders often struggle to comprehend.”
Drawing directly from her perspective as an Israeli artist based on Kibbutz Kfar Blum, Schwartz infuses the piece with genuine cultural resonance and historical memory. Rather than celebrating conflict itself, the artwork focuses heavily on the human elements that surface within it—highlighting the protective impulses, lasting trauma, and profound compassions that unite individuals amidst systemic volatility.
Ultimately, The Wounded Soldier 2 stands as a vital and emotionally resonant cornerstone within Schwartz’s figurative portfolio. By combining technical graphic discipline with an deeply empathetic, analytical narrative, this striking drawing brings an intense, humanistic energy to any collection focusing on modern expressionist portraiture or regional wartime history.
For gallery placement options, exhibition catalogs, or to browse companion pastel works within this thematic collection, please visit the studio contact portal.
