This sumptuously illustrated volume, edited by eminent war historian Joanna Bourke, offers a comprehensive visual, cultural and historical account of the ways in which armed conflict has been represented in art. Covering the last two centuries, the book shows how the artistic portrayal of war has changed, from a celebration of heroic exploits to a more modern, truthful depiction of warfare and its consequences.
Featuring illustrations by artists including Paul Nash, Judy Chicago, Pablo Picasso, Melanie Friend, Francis Bacon, Käthe Kollwitz, Yves Klein, Robert Rauschenberg, Dora Meeson, Otto Dix and many others, as well as those who are often overlooked, such as children, non-European artists and prisoners of war, this extensive survey is a fitting and timely contribution to the understanding, memory and commemoration of war, and will appeal to a wide audience interested in warfare, art, history or politics.
Introduction by Joanna Bourke, with essays by Jon Bird, Monica Bohm-Duchen, Joanna Bourke, Grace Brockington, James Chapman, Michael Corris, Patrick Crogan, Jo Fox, Paul Gough, Gary Haines, Clare Makepeace, Sue Malvern, Sergiusz Michalski, Manon Pignot, Anna Pilkington, Nicholas J. Saunders, John Schofield, John D. Szostak, Sarah Wilson and Jay Winter.
Joanna Bourke is Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London. Her many books include What it Means to be Human (2011).
Introduction
HISTORIES
War Imagery between the Crimean Campaign and 1914
The Two World Wars
In the Heat of the Cold War, 1945-77
Contemporary War; Contemporary Art
GENRES
Propaganda, Art and War
War and Film
Trench Art: Objects and People in Conflict
Visions of the Apocalypse: Documenting the Hidden Artwork of Abandoned Cold War Bases
ARTISTS
Kiyochika’s Last Laughs: Satirical War Prints form the First Sino-Japanese (1894-5) and Russo-Japanese (1904-5) Wars
‘In front of me is the war, and I battle with it with all my strength’: The Wars of Vasili Vereshchagin and Natalia Goncharova
‘The most gruesome picture ever painted’: Otto Dix and the Truth of War
Kathe Kollwitz and the Art of War
‘A concentrated utterance of total war’: Paul Nash, C.R.W. Nevinson and the Great War
I Do (Not) Challenge: Nancy Spero’s War Series
‘My Name is David and I will be your war artist for the day’: David Cotterrell Shoots a Video
CONTEXTS
Drawn in Blood and Bone: The Art of Captives of War
The Crayon War: How Children Drew the Great War
Rape in the Art of War
Video Games, War and Operational Aesthetics
Art Against War
References
Bibliography
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index