German Encounters with Modernism, 1840–1945

Offers different perspectives on the history of German art from the 1840s to 1940s.

Peter Paret (Author)

9780521790550, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 February 2001

294 pages, 58 b/w illus. 8 colour illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 0.2 cm, 0.6 kg

'This latest volume is a worthy addition, informed throughout by a deep and humane understanding of the political, the intellectual, the symbolic and the visual.' Burlington Magazine

In German Encounters with Modernism, Peter Paret traces the reception of modern art, from the 1840s through the Nazi era, through the lens of social and political developments in Germany. Addressing broad cultural topics, such as the early history of Expressionism, the role of anti-Semitism in German reactions to modernism, the impact of World War I on the arts, and the function of art, both as a political target and a political weapon, it also includes new interpretations of the work of artists such as the sculptor Ernst Barlach. Based on archival discoveries, this study combines a strong narrative approach with interdisciplinary analysis. It opens different perspectives on the history of German art in a critically important, and ultimately tragic period of German history.

1. Adolph Menzel from different perspectives
2. Theodor Fontane and Max Lieberman: a Prussian comparison
3. Modernism and the 'Alien element in German Art'
4. The Tschudi affair
5. Revolutionary continuities
6. The great dying: notes on German Art, 1914–1918
7. Field Marshal and Beggar: Ernst Barlach in the First World War
8. 'The enemy within': Max Liebermann as president of the Prussian Academy of Arts
9. God's hammer.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD], History of art & design styles: from c 1900 - [ACX]