ON THE GLORIOUS STAGE OF DEATH:
The Attack on Port Arthur in Woodblock Prints

On view February 7–April 27, 2014

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On The Glorious Stage of Death

Japan’s surprise attack on Russian-held Port Arthur (modern-day Lüshunkou, China) on February 8, 1904, signaled the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. During the 11-month-long siege, Japanese public support for the war was nothing short of enthusiastic. Woodblock printmakers and publishers capitalized on this enthusiasm by issuing dramatic compositions of war scenes that depicted the Japanese as conquering heroes and the Russians as valiant, if vanquished, foes.

In commemoration of the 110th anniversary of this attack, the Mead Art Museum will display war triptychs and satirical prints from the Russo-Japanese War, including the work of Kobayashi Kiyochika and Migita Toshihide, two master print designers of Meiji Japan.

On Friday, February 7, at 4:30 p.m., join Bradley Bailey, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Postdoctoral Curatorial Teaching Fellow in Japanese Prints, for a closer look at the prints featured in this display


Made possible with generous support from the Amherst Art Series and the Hall and Kate Peterson Fund.