Power, Image, and Memory

Historical Subjects in Art
Power, Image, and Memory examines how leaders and societies have used works of art commemorating historical events to shape collective memory. Through iconic artworks over centuries and across the globe, it explores the power of art to affirm cultural identities and thereby mold social groups and nations.
Those who write history determine its narrative, whether through written text or through the visual language of art and public monuments. Power, Image, and Memory examines a wide variety of artistic traditions, showing how art commemorating historical events can shape collective memory, and with it, the identities of social groups and nations. From the Mesopotamians to the present day, leaders and societies have used art to frame and memorialize important events. This account establishes a dialogue among traditions in a series of case studies, ranging from the reliefs at Ramses' temple at Abu Simbel and the ancient Greek "Alexander Mosaic" to the Heian Period Japanese scroll of the Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace, the Benin Bronzes, Diego Velázquez's Surrender at Breda, and Picasso's Guernica. Weaving together meticulous historic detail, theory, and visual analysis, this volume offers a complex picture of the power of art and memory, as well as of the life of these monuments and messages over time, distanced from their original cultures and context. With insights relevant to contemporary debates reexamining historic monuments, Power, Image, and Memory sheds new light on the power of art to shape social memory and identity.

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