Eto šta je civilizacija učinila varvarstvu

Abstract

This paper examines the problem of spoliation and confiscation of works of art and antiques as traditional consequences of war, and their transfer from the original context and its social consequences, by providing specific examples from the history of art. It also aims to examine certain current issues of the restitution of works of art and antiques to the countries of their origin. In the example of pillage and plunder of the Summer Palace in Beijing by the English and French troops, which marked the Second Opium War, the author specifically analyzes the views of Victor Hugo on vandalism, and his standpoint as the representative of the French Romanticism in the defence of Chinese art and civilization.