Nature, War and the Art of the Detmold Twins

Twins Charles Maurice Detmold (1883-1908) and Edward Julius Detmold (1883-1957) were among the most extraordinary, enigmatic and tragic figures in early 20th century British art. In unravelling the mysteries of their lives, this book re-examines themes of art and war, orientalism, and the human relationship with nature.

By the time they entered their teens, the Detmold twins were widely recognised as artistic geniuses. They worked together on acclaimed etchings and on illustrations to Kipling’s Jungle Book, but at the height of their fame, and while still in his early twenties, Charles Maurice Detmold inexplicably committed suicide, leaving only a couple of strange sentences as clues to the reason for his death. Edward Detmold went on to become a central figure in the golden age of book illustration, famous particularly for his nature paintings and for the images he created to accompany Hodder and Stoughton’s exquisite 1924 edition of The Arabian Nights. He was also imprisoned as a conscientious objector during the First World War, and developed idiosyncratic philosophies, particularly focused on his impassioned rejection of the violence of modern civilization.

The first book-length biography of the Detmold twins, this study uses previously unknown archives to show how profoundly their work resonates with the predicaments of environmental destruction and rising tides of military violence that still confront us today. This book is of relevance to all students and researchers with an interest in early twentieth century British cultural and social history and in art history (especially the history of illustration and the fields of art and war, art and the environment, and Orientalist art). It will also appeal to a broader audience of general readers with a love of art history as well as those with an interest in themes of twentieth century pacifism and utopianism.