【Book Review】 "A History of War Art": A Comprehensive Work Systematically Organizing the Genealogy of War Art Centered on Painting | NEWS Post Seven
The book "A History of War Art" comprehensively organizes the genealogy of war art, primarily focusing on painting.Summary
This is a review of the book "A History of War Art" by Kikuo Miyashita, which is praised as a comprehensive work that organizes the genealogy of war art, focusing mainly on painting, spanning from ancient Near Eastern sculpture to Japanese Ukiyo-e and Nazi propaganda. The reviewer notes that the book provides a valuable framework, especially in contrast to the modern tendency toward specialization. While acknowledging the book's thorough organization, the author offers a strict evaluation of Tsuguharu Foujita's war paintings, deeming them "late history paintings" that failed to fully escape Western imitation, a claim strengthened by the book's preceding context. Although the coverage of the post-WWII era feels somewhat scattered—perhaps unavoidable given the decline of painting's importance—the book is deemed an extremely effective chart for navigating the broader, modern domain of war art, which now extends to media like SNS videos.
(Source：NEWSポストセブン)