Carnet d'un Permissionaire

Born into a military family, Guy Arnoux served in the military from 1907 to 1909, and was later named an official painter of the Navy in 1921. Military and patriotic themes permeate his graphic works created during World War I. This album emulates the carnets or journals that were used by soldiers during the war, pairing eleven small illustrations with text. The pochoir booklet employs subtle humor and irony in its images. On the open page, for example, l’Embusqué is slang for shirkers (those who avoided military duty), whom soldiers looked down upon and often described as less manly than themselves. This can be seen partly in the contrast between the awkward, lanky shirker and the bulky masses of the soldiers who scoff in the background. The illustrations in the carnet echo the ambivalence of French soldiers toward civilians in the interior, which is voiced in actual carnets.