'Doodle from Versailles' (November 1918) by David Lloyd George, Imperial War Museum ©
An Armistice meeting doodle
Some of the complexity and uncertainty of the peace negotiations at Versailles can be seen in a doodle that Britain's prime minister, David Lloyd George, made on the blotter at Versailles - saved by another artist present at the meeting, Herbert Olivier. Lloyd George had been re-elected in 1918 on a clear and uncompromising platform of seeking full restitution from Germany.
Although he was soon persuaded that Germany could not realistically repay the amounts that the Allies wanted, and that they would need a sound economic base in order to generate future payments, some sort of compromise had to be reached that would match the public expectations he had helped raise.
In the doodle, the black outline of a figure is locked into a complex structure, repeatedly re-examined and redrawn. The image could be read as a map or a towering structure, and either reading suggests parallels with the discussions to redraw the map of Europe, following Germany’s defeat in World War One, and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Published: 2005-03-15
