Russian Flagship Destroyed by Japanese Torpedo Meiji period,

Curator: Here we have Yasuda Hanpo's woodblock print, "Russian Flagship Destroyed by Japanese Torpedo," currently residing in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The immediate feel is chaos – bodies tossed about, a ship dissolving into the sea. It’s like a fever dream of naval warfare. Curator: Precisely, there’s a powerful diagonal dynamic created by the waves and the vessel’s trajectory. Notice how Hanpo employs line to suggest both movement and disintegration. Editor: Yes, those jagged, almost frantic lines! But also that surprising pastel palette-- the gentle blues and peaches-- juxtaposed against the violence. It feels almost perverse. Curator: The choice of color is a deliberate strategy, serving not to beautify but to heighten the unsettling contrast between aesthetic form and brutal subject matter. Editor: I'm left with a sense of the fragile beauty of destruction. It's a grim poetry. Curator: A poignant and insightful reflection on the art of war, rendered with undeniable graphic skill.