World War I was an important theme for Otto Dix, who served on the front line for three years. In 1923–1924 Dix produced Der Krieg (War), a portfolio of fifty etchings drawn from the detailed notebooks he kept while posted on the front. Dix intended Der Krieg as reportage; as he said, “artists are not there to reform and convert. They are far too little for that. They must testify.” Dix rarely showed actual combat, but was concerned with the effect of war on people. He depicted dismembered and wounded soldiers, skulls crawling with worms, brothels, and shattered landscapes. Dead Man in the Mud is a reminder of the ultimate price of war.