Modern Art in Eastern Europe
From the Baltic to the Balkans, ca. 1890–1939

In this award-winning study, Steven Mansbach provides the first coherent narrative of the modern art movements of Eastern Europe. Analyzing a vast range of works, many reproduced 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 avante-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 its historiography.

Reviews & endorsements

'With Mr Mansbach's prize-winning book to hand … ignorance is rapidly banished as it reveals the currents of Modernism from the Baltic to the Balkans that accompanied the 'national awakening' that occurred with the post-World War I collapse of the Hapsburg and Romanov empires.' Art Newspaper

Customer reviews

Product details

• Date Published: April 2001
• format: Paperback
• isbn: 9780521456951
• length: 400 pages

• dimensions: 279 x 218 x 28 mm
• weight: 1.45kg
• contains: 400 b/w illus. 48 colour illus.
• availability: Unavailable - out of print July 2011