VISUAL ACTIVITYThe Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28th June 1919, by Sir William Orpen Set in the dazzling Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, built for Louis XIV as a symbol of his power, this painting captures the moment when the treaty was signed in June 1919. The leaders in charge of putting the world back together after the Great War are gathered at the table. Wilson is seated fifth from the left, dignified but seemingly isolated, while the French premier Georges Clemenceau and the British prime minister David Lloyd George are huddled together at Wilson’s left.READING THE IMAGE: What might have been the artist’s message in depicting Wilson, Clemenceau, and Lloyd George as he did?CONNECTIONS: Diplomats and politicians hammered out the treaty. How did Americans back home respond to the work of Wilson and the other world leaders at Versailles?
Imperial War Museum, London, UK/Bridgeman Images.