MICHAEL LODGE

Geese on the Somme

Acrylic on Canvas

125 x 93cm

A tank avoiding local geese on the banks of the Somme River in France sometime after July 1916 midst terrible warfare on land and in the air. The tank driver whilst advancing in haste, have gone out of their way to avoid the geese on a river named for the Celtic word meaning “tranquil”.

The counterpoint of this situation I have painted I hope conveys human decency under supreme stress.