War, from wounds to poems
I loved the arts so much that I became an artilleryman. Apollinaire, 1916
The declaration of war in 1914 marked a turning point for everyone and played a major part in the life of the patriotic poet. Picasso, spared by Spain's neutrality, was able to stay in Paris, whereas Braque, Léger and Derain were mobilized. Marie Laurencin, having married a German artist, left France. Apollinaire was determined to enlist; according to Picasso, it was his particular way of putting the unfortunate episode of his arrest and imprisonment behind him.
On December 22, Picasso sent him a letter and enclosed a portrait of the poet as an artilleryman: "Don't you think that's a shell exploding in the sky in your portrait, [it's] the loveliest sun breaking through the clouds."[1] Difficult times ensued: Eva was very ill and died at the end of 1915, and Braque was seriously wounded on the front line. Then, in 1916, it was Apollinaire's turn, when he received a shrapnel wound on his right temple on March 17. He underwent a first trepanation before being evacuated to Val de Grâce hospital at the end of March. He asked his friend to visit him: "My dear Pablo, come to see me today if you can. I'm at the Val de Grâce, room no. 13. Ask for Kostrowitzky. Your friend, Guil Apol."[2] Picasso went to Val de Grâce and drew the famous picture of his friend with a bandaged head.
Despite his wound, the poet continued to work on his new poetry collection, Calligrammes, which opened up a whole new range of possibilities for 20th-century poetry. The book became the symbol of the avant-garde for an entire young generation that was yearning for something new. On December 31, 1916, Picasso organized a banquet to honor the poet, who was much weakened but cloaked in an aura of prestige due to his wound and the scar across his skull.
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Summary