Out Looking In: Early Modern Polish Art, 1890-1918

Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000. Cloth, xxiv, 307 pages, [16] pages of plates, illustrations (some colour), maps; 26 cm. Firm binding, clean inside copy. Dust jacket protected in a mylar cover. "Jan Cavanaugh's innovative study locates Polish artists at the core of one of the primary turn-of-the-century modernist movements, the Central European Secession. Ten of the original fifty members of the Vienna Secession were Poles they and other Polish artists participated actively in secessionist exhibitions while also forming their own group, which exhibited throughout Europe. At the same time, many of these artists were deeply involved in the struggle for their country's independence. The Secession created an international forum to raise the standards of art and welcomed artists excluded from the salons because of their commitment to modernism. While modernism had a strong pan-European flavor, each country contributed a distinctive strain derived from its individual culture. Cavanaugh argues that after 1890 Polish artists gained new inspiration from progressive international trends, embracing modernism while seeking to sustain their own artistic and cultural autonomy. Despite its marginal status, Polish modernism, she says, was one of the strongest national movements to evolve outside the major centers of European art. Out Looking In is the first comprehensive study in English of this significant period in Polish art. In addressing issues of national identity and consciousness, Cavanaugh essentially revises our understanding of European modernism and expertly demonstrates art history's role in reflecting broad cultural changes. / Jan Cavanaugh is an independent scholar living in Huntington Beach, California." - Publisher. CONTENTS: FROM THE PARTITIONS TO THE MODERNA. The nation and the national art: Historical outline; The cultural battleground; Art theory and criticism in the service of a national cause. THREE MODERNIST CRITICS. Stanislaw Witkiewicz's theory of modern art; Stanislaw Przybyszewski and the Young Poland Movement; Zenon Przesmycki and the sacred torch of art for art. THE POLISH ART WORLD: Polish artists abroad; Krakow; The academy of fine arts in Krako´w; The school of fine arts in Warsaw. THE SZTUKA SOCIETY: Founding and aims; The international arena; ten years after. SZTUKA AND THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN SECESSION MOVEMENT: Art associations in Europe; The Krako´w secession?; Sztuka and the Vienna secession. Stars are born out of chaos. Impressionism and Polish colorism: The Polish impressionists; Nastrojowy color; Jan Stanislawski. PEASANTS AND LANDSCAPES: The land; Peasant imagery; The Zakopane style. SYMBOLISM AND OTHER STREAMS, TRIBUTARIES, AND RIVULETS: Jo´zef Mehoffer; Stanislaw Wyspianski; Jacek Malczewski. EXPRESSIONISM AND THE END OF POLISH MODERNISM: Wojciech Weiss; Xawery Dunikowski; Witold Wojtkiewicz; The interwar years. . 1st. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 4to. Collectible.