Modern art in Eastern Europe

by Steven A. Mansbach

"In this study, S. A. Mansbach provides us with the first coherent narrative of the modern-art movements of Eastern Europe. Analyzing a vast range of works, many published here for the first time, the author argues that our understanding of modernism is incomplete without consideration of this material. He shows how cubism, expressionism, and constructivism, among other modernist styles, were amalgamated with deeply rooted visual traditions in several vital centers - including Prague, Warsaw, and Budapest - in order to express the most pressing concerns of the day, particularly nationalism. Mansbach also considers the critical response of the eastern European art public to these various avant-garde movements. A revisionist interpretation of modernism, Modern Art in Eastern Europe provides a much-needed reassessment of the art of this century, as well as of its historiography."--BOOK JACKET.