Street art featuring a portrait of Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi is seen at the Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem (Palestine) on December 28, 2022. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
"Much has been written about art and war: the artists who were forced to fight, those who exempted themselves from their obligations, those who portrayed the horrors of the front and those who were commissioned to glorify the struggle in the form of official propaganda" ( DRUMMOND, 2022).
Wars exert a profound influence on culture and art, shaping and reflecting the social transformations that occur in their context. This role of wars as catalysts for change is vividly manifested in the field of visual arts, where the representation of war conflicts not only portrays historical realities, but also acts in the construction of a society's historical and cultural consciousness.
Paintings of battles, monuments, and other forms of artistic expression not only document historical events, but also convey the emotions, ideals, and aspirations of the people involved. Thus, art is not a mere passive reflection of the times, it is an active participant, capable of influencing and shaping public perception and historical memory.
Artistic representations of conflicts range from the celebration of military victories to the exaltation of heroic figures. These works often aim to glorify the actions of leaders and soldiers, praising values such as courage, loyalty and sacrifice. Paintings such as:
"The Battle of Alexander at Issus", by Albrecht Altdorfer (1529)
"Napoleon on the Battlefield of Eylau, by Antoine-Jean Gros (1808)
"Battle of Avay", by Pedro Américo (1877)
These artistic representations play a crucial role in the construction of national narratives. Through them, nations not only remember their war histories, but also shape national identity, forging a common sense of pride and belonging. Furthermore, such works can be used as propaganda tools, designed to strengthen national morale or mobilize the public for the war effort. During conflicts, art, often influenced by capital, can promote an idealized image of the nation, highlighting its justice and heroism in the fight against adversaries.
Capital exerts a direct influence on the themes addressed in artistic works, strengthening the status quo and promoting specific ideologies. This influence manifests itself in a propagandistic way, while maintaining a posture of professional detachment, as in the works mentioned previously.
In the 19th century, historical painting emerged as the most prominent genre in the Brazilian artistic scene, often celebrating the military conquests of the Empire. A notable example of this trend can be seen in the work "Combate Naval do Riachuelo", by Victor Meirelles, which illustrates the naval confrontation between Brazil and Paraguay during the Paraguayan War.
According to Álvaro Saluan da Cunha (2018), PhD in History from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, a distinctive feature of historical painting is its non-exclusive dependence on reality as a reference, allowing the representation to be shaped by idealizations and personal preferences of the artist. In this context, Meirelles did not seek to portray war scenes in a believable manner, but rather to narrate the events in a way that best met his artistic interests and the expectations of his patrons, as evidenced by the fact that the work was commissioned by the then Minister of the Navy , Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo.
Furthermore, war-related art can also serve as a means of critique and reflection. While many works glorify the conflict and its leaders, others may question the motives, consequences, and morality of war. Such works challenge dominant perspectives and encourage audiences to critically reflect on the reasons for and outcomes of conflicts. I highlight a few:
"The Face of War", by Salvador Dalí (1940)
"Guernica", by Pablo Picasso (1937)
"The Third of May 1808", by Francisco de Goya (1814)
Series "War", by Käthe Kollwitz (1918-1922)
Representations of military conflicts in art are multifaceted. They not only document historical events, but also shape how those events are perceived and remembered, generating insights not just about the art itself, but about the society that produced that art and how that society chose to remember—or forget—the events. pictured.
Art and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
After decades of Israeli occupation of Palestine, on October 7, 2023, the Hamas group attacked southern Israel, leaving 1,200 dead, of which 816 were civilians, and 200 kidnapped. The Israeli government responded with an attack on the Gaza Strip, which many world organizations, such as Amnesty International and the United Nations, condemned as genocide. In recent months, there have been bombings, destruction of civilian centers, more than 34 thousand civilian casualties, more than 75 thousand injured, 1.7 million people displaced. As of April 2024, around 109 journalists have been killed in the conflict, including 102 Palestinians, 4 Israelis and 3 Lebanese, according to the International Federation of Journalists.
In this article, we will explore the response of the fine arts world to the conflict, focusing on a specific case in Germany.
Response from the art world
Since the start of the conflict in October 2023, the cultural industry has suffered a wave of dismissals and boycotts, messages of support, refutation and protests. Some examples:
Katya Kazakina, a renowned art journalist of Ukrainian-American and Jewish origin, expressed her concern about the silence of museums and art galleries in the days following the October 7 attack and the lack of support for Israel. She highlighted her disappointment with an open letter signed by eight thousand personalities (described below), which condemned Israel's attacks without mentioning the massacre of the Jewish people. Kazakina noted that these same people and institutions have provided instant support to causes such as Ukraine and the Black Lives Matter movement, but remain silent on the Jewish issue. She emphasized that the institutions that demonstrated support for Israel were, for the most part, Jewish institutions.
In her analysis, Kazakina raised the possibility that museums fear losing their business, mentioning one of today's main sponsors who supports Palestine.
The 60th Venice Biennale, held in 2024, was the target of demonstrations. With the theme "Foreigners Everywhere", and curated by Brazilian Adriano Pedrosa, director of MASP, the Biennale focused on the production of artists from diverse backgrounds, providing space and visibility to marginalized groups, such as immigrants, expatriates , queer and indigenous people. In early 2024, more than fourteen thousand people signed a letter demanding that Israel be excluded from the Biennale. Italy's Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, declared that Israel will continue to be represented at the Venice Biennale, highlighting that the event will always be a space for freedom, encounter and dialogue, and not for censorship and intolerance.
Many artistic personalities do not have the same vision.
Shortly after the attack, eight thousand personalities from the art world (including Jews) signed an open letter condemning the human rights violations perpetrated by Israel. The letter, published on October 19, 2023 by Artforum magazine, demands an immediate cessation of "all killings and injuries to civilians" and urges the world to break the silence and recognize the crimes against humanity that the Palestinian people are facing. The Israeli art magazine Erev Rav published a letter signed by more than three thousand people criticizing the open letter published by Artforum due to “the omission of any substantive recognition and condemnation of the acts of Hamas.” Artforum published a response to the October 19 letter that condemns "the open letter for its one-sided view." After that, Artforum's editor-in-chief was fired.
Pictures for Palestine hosted sales of photographic prints by an international group of artists to aid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Proceeds went to MAP, Medical Aid for Palestinians. Until the date of posting this article, around 450 thousand pounds sterling had been raised.
Demian DinéYazhi, an American artist, designed a neon installation titled “we must stop imagining apocalypse/genocide + we must imagine liberation”. Exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial, the work was inspired by indigenous movements. However, one detail escaped the attention of the museum's curators in the early stages: flashing lights slowly spelling out the phrase "Free Palestine." This incident did not result in the interruption of the installation's exhibition, on the contrary, Angela Montefinise, director of communications and content at the museum, emphasized the artistic freedom of the space.
In Demian DinéYazhi’s neon poetry, flickering letters spelled out the hidden appeal “Free Palestine.” The hidden component of the Diné artist's installation was unknown to the Whitney Biennial curators. (Nora Gomez-Strauss/Whitney Museum of American Art)
Israeli/Jewish artists
Venice Biennale 2024: Ruth Patir, the artist chosen to represent Israel, has decided not to open the Israeli pavilion until a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is reached.
Soldados italianos montam guarda em frente ao pavilhão de Israel durante a pré-abertura da feira de arte da Bienal de Veneza [Gabriel Bouys/AFP]
Israeli-Ukrainian artist Zoya Cherkassky fled to Berlin leaving her family behind after Hamas attacks. Inspired by the reality she lived, she created a series titled "October 7, 2023", which is presented in 12 works on paper, depicting the horrors of the attack. The series was installed at the Jewish Museum in New York. The artist also defends the need for people to understand the differences between Palestine and Hamas, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The work below titled "A Burned Family", inspired by Edvard Munch's "The Scream", refers to the families burned alive by Hamas.
‘A Burned Family, October 7, 2023’ by Zoya Cherkassky, October 2023.
Palestinian artists
The Palestinian Museum presents the exhibition titled "This Is Not An Exhibition", which depicts the sky and sea of Gaza, the bombings, nature and music. The exhibition features the work of more than 100 artists from Gaza, who protest the conflict and the loss of works of art during the war, highlighting the cultural cost of the conflict. The artists describe the work as a form of resistance against a genocidal war caused by a machine of destruction and death, without specifically mentioning Israel or Hamas.
Samar Hazboun
Venice Biennale 2024: in this year's edition there are only 2 Palestinian artists, the architects Alessandro Petti and Sandi Hilal, founders of DAAR (Decolonizing Architecture Art Research). DAAR's contribution to the Biennale explores how it is possible to critically reappropriate, reuse and subvert fascist colonial architecture and its modernist legacy. They focus on Borgo Rizza, a rural settlement in Sicily built in 1940 by the Ente di Colonizzazione del Latifondo Siciliano (ECLS). This project aimed to modernize and repopulate the region, seen as backward by the fascist regime. Similar architectural designs were implemented by fascist colonialism in countries such as Libya, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The installation consists of a scale reproduction of the facade of the village's main building, deconstructed into fifteen multipurpose modules. Since May 2022, these modules have been in different locations, such as the Mostra d'Oltremare in Naples, the Hansaviertel district in Berlin and the La Loge museum in Brussels, to promote discussions and dialogues on the topic.
DAAR installation at Arsenale | Marco Zorzanello
Art in Germany
“I don’t like a state or culture that so obeys authority.”, said Wei Wei, Chinese visual artist and social activist.
For many artists, especially foreigners who have settled in Berlin as a place of cultural freedom, according to culture critic, Jason Farago (2024), the city's very survival as an artistic capital is in doubt, or perhaps has already disappeared.
Berlin, once an artistic epicenter across Europe, today bears witness to an intrinsically German narrative. The legacy of the Holocaust continues to profoundly shape a cultural sector dedicated to reconciliation. This culture of remembrance also underlies Germany's solid support for Israel and the strict limits placed on criticism directed at its ally.
Following the attacks launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was one of the first Western leaders to arrive in Tel Aviv. Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he declared that Germany had "only one place – and that is next to Israel." And Berlin is home to one of the largest Palestinian diaspora communities in Europe, estimated at 300,000.
Openly addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can have serious consequences such as canceled performances, loss of funding and accusations of anti-Semitism. Some cultural leaders are sounding a warning signal. In January, Berlin state authorities introduced a new funding clause that would require beneficiaries to sign a document opposing "all manifestations of anti-Semitism" - and employed a definition that labeled certain criticisms of Israeli policy as anti-Semitism. The artists protested and the proposal was withdrawn.
French artist Johanna Tagada shared on her Instagram account an email exchange with staff at a museum in Germany, where her solo exhibition was scheduled to take place. In the email, titled "Different Perspectives", it was communicated to her that due to her support for Palestine, the museum, which operates with public funds, did not wish to support such a statement. In response, Tageda, who is of German and Arab Jewish descent, stated that she defends the freedom of Palestine, opposes all forms of oppression and hatred, as well as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
German democracy at stake?
"Especially in difficult political times, organizations like the Goethe-Institut must not become an extension of the government. When moral tests and moral imperialism dominate, crises cannot be overcome" (Carola Lentz, 2024).
In an interview with Der Spiegel, Dr. Carola Lentz, specialist in sociology and president of the Goethe-Institut, discusses the current scenario as a cultural dispute in which long-standing partners in the international cultural world are losing confidence in liberality of democracy in Germany. Lentz argues that political-moral involvement is undermining the anarchy of art, highlighting the need for spaces free from state control, that promote reflection and embrace diverse perspectives. She notes that the political groups that propose measures to censor works they consider anti-Semitic are the same ones that maintain economic relations with anti-Israel authoritarian regimes.
Staatsräson (Reason of State)
The term reason of state. This term, ragione degli stati, was first coined by the Italian poet and diplomat Giovanni della Casa around 1547. It was later used by Niccolò Machiavelli, Giovanni Botero, and most notably by Cardinal Richelieu, with raison d'état (BURNS; GOLDIE, 1991, p. 479–480). The reason of State can be understood as foreign policy based on the national interest, and it is necessary to highlight that there is a distinction between the interests of the State and those of the individual, as well as the moral codes that guide these behaviors (SATO, 2021).
Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister, on her visit to the State of Israel in October 2023, said "these days we are all Israelis". This speech is the portrait of the German reason of state. In the academic discussion, according to Antje Wiener (2024), professor of Political Science at the University of Hamburg, two perspectives predominate: one argues that the exhibition is a "strategic attempt by the German government to 'cleanse' its Nazi history", while the other highlights "guilt and moral obligation as motivations for a commitment to reconciliation with the Jews."
"Israel's existence is an essential condition for Germany's existence. If Israel does not exist, Germany's guilt will consume everything once again. And that is an unacceptable possibility." explained Johannes von Moltke, professor of German cultural history at the University of Michigan (FARAGO, 2024). As Farago highlights in his article, the cultural collapse, apparently associated only with an international conflict, presents its particularly German version, based on the German reason of state.
Conclusion
The intersection between art and war in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reveals the complexities of cultural expression in times of crisis. The art world's response reflects both solidarity and disagreement, highlighting the tension between artistic freedom and political and social pressures. While some artists explicitly stand up for a cause or denounce human rights violations, others face ethical dilemmas and professional consequences when addressing sensitive issues. The cultural strife in Germany, in particular, illustrates how foreign policy and national history influence interactions between art, society, and state power. Ultimately, art plays an essential role in documenting, interpreting and questioning conflicts and their repercussions, shaping collective perception and offering space for critical reflection and dialogue, and should not be at the mercy of state ideology. Art institutions must be free to find their own answers to contemporary challenges, making sure to maintain open spaces for reflection, encouraging diverse perspectives.
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