Expressionism (Movements in Modern Art)

Rating:
Summary: Highly educative and greatly entertaining!
Review: Among the overviews of German Expressionism Shulamith Behr's book, published by the Tate Gallery in a series on modern art movements, stands out for being concise and wonderfully readable. Combining the latest research with original contemporary texts, Behr manages to tell the history of the movement in a style that is at the same time highly educative and greatly entertaining. After examining the origins of Expressionism, three chapters present a vivid picture of its centres in Germany before WWI and its main artistic communities: Dresden and Die Brücke, Munich and Der Blaue Reiter, Berlin and Die Pathetiker. The last chapter looks at the more politicized forms of Expressionist art after 1918 as well as its fate in the Third Reich and its continued impact on contemporary art. Delineating thus one of the most influential art movements of the twentieth century in all its variations, the book is a brilliant introduction to Expressionism, all the more so since it is beautifully illustrated throughout and provides a bibliography with recommendations for further reading.