Accession Number
2014/2.313

Title
Bayonet Attack

Artist(s)
Dmitri Baltermants

Artist Nationality
Russian (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1941; printed 2003

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
20 in x 16 in (50.8 cm x 40.64 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James Agah, Class of 1989 (BBA)

Subject matter
This photograph contrasts stillness and movement in the bodies and actions of the Soviet soldiers who constitute the main subject of the image. The camera peers down a narrow and shallow trench at two soldiers who gaze down the barrels of their rifles over the trench walls. Above, several other soldiers bound overhead, their figures blurred by their movement. The sharp, attenuated forms of these soldiers’ bayonets act almost like directional aids, guiding the viewer’s eye to the right-hand side of the photograph.

Physical Description
Soldiers with rifles and bayonets take cover in or jump over a trench dug into a barren landscape.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
armies
battles
bayonets
journalistic photography
soldiers
trenches
war photography