"Art" of War

Art is and has always been a way to better understand culture. The Medieval world was characterized by war, and the art of the time depicts that. War can and often has produced fantastic and striking images that create the inspiration for dynamic works of art. Over centuries of war, the aesthetic and the horrific have often collided in the creation of art that depicts and oftentimes romanticizes wartime. In exploring both the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Kislak Center, it is clear that beyond aesthetic art, many of the instruments and objects made for war are incredibly detailed, artistic, valuable, and a functional form of art in and of itself. 

This digital exhibition explores both traditional forms of art (paintings, drawings, and tapestries) and more functional objects that were made with a level of craftsmanship that can undoubtedly be considered art. These illustrations and objects highlight the various ways in which aesthetic art appears in times of war in the Middle Ages, or the ways in which art depicts the war-centric culture of the time.