Overview

This book provides a ground-breaking study of monuments to defeat. Focusing on one sculpture—Gloria Victis, or Glory to the Defeated, by French artist Antonin Mercié—the author examines the artwork’s profound influence on commemorative practices at the turn of the twentieth century. Using case studies spanning Europe, Africa, and North and South America, the research examples given in this book highlights an international trend for erecting public monuments celebrating military defeats. The analysis of the role of public sculpture in shaping collective memory from the standpoint of history’s losers rather than victors reveals surprising connections between defeat and power. Weaving together histories of failed revolutions, foreign conquests, and toppled governments, this book creates a thoughtful analysis of the political manipulation of fact and memory which is just as relevant for the present as it is for the past.

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9789048563852

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Reviews

In engaging and accessible prose, Commemorating Defeat tells the story of how defeated nations in the late nineteenth century managed to transform military failure into cultural victory, through an innovative new sculptural monument that “went viral” and migrated across continents. This outstanding transnational study will fascinate readers interested in monumental politics, international diplomacy, and historical myth-making. – Kirk Savage, William S. Dietrich II Professor of History of Art and Architecture, University of Pittsburgh In this remarkable book, Nicholas Parkinson compiles an original corpus of monuments to defeat and lost causes, which he posits as a sculptural, commemorative, and heritage category, and analyzes as a transnational culture. His approach is unprecedented, and his results are groundbreaking. – Bertrand Tillier, Professor of the History of Heritage, University of Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne A compelling and meticulously researched study, this work offers a truly international and transnational perspective on the construction of cultures of defeat. Drawing on an impressive range of sources from across four continents, the author brings together diverse case studies in a persuasive and coherent synthesis. The result is scholarship of remarkable breadth and depth—highly relevant, original, and certain to resonate within nationalism and memory studies. – Rasmus Glenthøj, Professor of History, University of Southern Denmark

Author Information

Nicholas Parkinson is a multidisciplinary art historian whose research examines the relationship between art and global politics. Research for this book was financed by the Carlsberg Foundation.

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