Art and culture are among humanity's most vulnerable possessions, a fact made plain in times of conflict. Museums are looted, collections plundered, books burned and sculptures destroyed. It happened in antiquity and has continued throughout the centuries. The burning of Leuven University Library in the Great War, the looting of art by the Nazis and the Taliban's dynamiting of the Buddha …
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Art and culture are among humanity's most vulnerable possessions, a fact made plain in times of conflict. Museums are looted, collections plundered, books burned and sculptures destroyed. It happened in antiquity and has continued throughout the centuries. The burning of Leuven University Library in the Great War, the looting of art by the Nazis and the Taliban's dynamiting of the Buddha statues are potent examples. The more than thirty essays in this book explore this destructive urge, the way artists have depicted its grim consequences, and the desire to protect our heritage that has grown out of it. (© MF)
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