The Artist and the Warrior: Military History through the Eyes of the Masters

247 Pages·2011·147.95 MB·English

by  Theodore K. Rabb

THE ARTIST AND THE WARRIOR

THE ARTIST AND
THE WARRIOR
MILITARY HISTORY THROUGH
THE EYES OF THE MASTERS
THEODORE K . RABB
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
Copyright © 2011 Theodore K. Rabb
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and
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Set in Minion by IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd
Printed in China by Worldprint
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rabb, Theodore K.
The artist and the warrior : military history through the eyes of the
masters / Theodore K. Rabb.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-300-12637-2 (cl : alk. paper)
1. War in art. I. Title.
N8260.R33 2011
704.9'4935502—dc23
2011030917
This publication is made possible in part by a subvention from the Barr
Ferree Foundation Fund for Publications, Princeton University.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Tamar

Contents
List of Figures viii
Acknowledgments xiv
Foreword: Boundaries xv
Chapter One The Ancient World: Assyria and Greece 1
Chapter Two Rome and the Middle Ages 22
Chapter Three A New Vigor: War and Art in Feudal Japan 49
Chapter Four The Persistence of Tradition in the Early Renaissance 57
Chapter Five T raditions Transformed: The Sixteenth and
Seventeenth Centuries 79
Chapter Six War as Decoration: Suleyman, Palladio, and Akbar 126
Chapter Seven David Versus Goya 148
Chapter Eight The Pity of War: Modern Times 166
Afterword: Film 204
Bibliography 212
Index 217
Figures
page
1 Stone relief from Nineveh, Assyria, detail: camel, seventh century bce
(British Museum, London. © The Trustees at the British Museum) 8
2 Stone relief from Nineveh, Assyria, detail: Elamite troops, seventh
century bce (British Museum, London. akg-images) 9
3 Stone relief from Nineveh, Assyria, detail: scaling the walls of
Hamanu, seventh century bce (British Museum, London. © The
Trustees at the British Museum) 10
4 Stone relief from Nineveh, Assyria, detail: Assurbanipal in his
chariot, seventh century bce (British Museum London. akg-images/
Erich Lessing) 11
5 Douris, cup, detail: Eos and Memnon, 480s bce (Louvre G115,
Louvre Museum, Paris. © RMN/Hervé Lewandoski) 13
6 Douris, cup, detail: Menelaus and Paris, 480s bce (Louvre G115,
Louvre Museum, Paris. © RMN/Herve´ Lewandoski) 14
7 Douris, cup, detail: Ajax and Hector, 480s bce (Louvre G115, Louvre
Museum, Paris. © RMN/Herve´ Lewandoski) 15
8 Alexander Mosaic, second century bce (Archaeological Museum,
Naples. Photo by Magrippa) 18–19
9 Augustus of Prima Porta, early first century ce (Vatican City
Museums. Photo Scala, Florence) 25
10 Augustus of Prima Porta, detail: breastplate, early first century ce
(Vatican City Museums. Photo Scala, Florence) 26
11 Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, 176 ce (Capitoline Museum,
Rome. Archivio Fotografico del Musei Capitolini) 27
12 Trajan’s Column, detail: Danuvius, 113 ce (Trajan’s Forum, Rome.
Plate by Conrad Cichorius) 30
figures ix
13 Trajan’s Column, detail: siege, 113 ce (Trajan’s Forum, Rome. Plate
by Conrad Cichorius) 31
14 Trajan’s Column, detail: boats, 113 ce (Trajan’s Forum, Rome. Plate
by Conrad Cichorius) 32
15 Trajan’s Column, detail: Danube bridge, 113 ce (Trajan’s Forum,
Rome. Plate by Conrad Cichorius) 32
16 St. Gall, Book of Maccabees I: siege, c. 900 ce (Leiden Codex Perizoni
F.17: fol. 17 v, University Library, Leiden) 40
17 St. Gall, Book of Maccabees I: battle at river, c. 900 ce (Leiden Codex
Perizoni F.17: fol. 22 r, University Library, Leiden) 40
18 St. Gall, Book of Maccabees I: battle, c. 900 ce (Leiden Codex Perizoni
F.17: fols. 45 v–46 r, University Library, Leiden) 41
19 Bayeux Tapestry, detail: Halley’s Comet and Harold’s coronation,
eleventh century (Museum of the Tapestry, Bayeux. By special
permission of the City of Bayeux) 45
20 Bayeux Tapestry, detail: Norman invasion boats, eleventh century
(Museum of the Tapestry, Bayeux. By special permission of the City
of Bayeux) 46
21 Bayeux Tapestry, detail: death of Harold, eleventh century (Museum
of the Tapestry, Bayeux. By special permission of the City of Bayeux) 47
22 Heiji Monogatari Emaki, detail: rushing crowd, late thirteenth
century (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Photo © 2011 Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston ) 53
23 Heiji Monogatari Emaki, detail: palace fire, late thirteenth century
(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Photo © 2011 Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston) 54
24 Heiji Monogatari Emaki, detail: emperor’s carriage, late thirteenth
century (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Photo © 2011 Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston) 55
25 Donatello, Gattamelata, 1453 (Piazza del Santo, Padua. akg-images) 61
26 Donatello, David, 1440s (Bargello Museum, Florence. Photo Scala,
Florence – courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali) 63
27 Paolo Uccello, Battle of San Romano, I: Niccolò da Tolentino, c. 1450
(National Gallery, London. © National Gallery, London) 65
28 Paolo Uccello, Battle of San Romano, II: Bernardino della Carda, c.
1450 (Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy/
Alinari/The Bridgemen Art Library) 66
29 Paolo Uccello, Battle of San Romano, III: Micheletto da Cotignola, c.
1450 (Louvre Museum, Paris. RMN/Jean-Gilles Berizzi) 67