Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918-1945

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Subject:

Arts

Institution Name:

National Gallery of Art

Collection:

National Gallery of Art

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Abstract:

During and directly after World War I, four great empires (Germany, Austro-Hungary, Russia, and the Ottomans) crumbled precipitously, to be replaced by more than one dozen fledgling nation-states. The largely agrarian, in some cases semifeudal, societies of central Europe were thrust nearly overnight into crises of civil war, unemployment, or inflation — and beyond these crises into a world propelled by mass media and consumer economies. Becoming modern was attractive but also anxiety-provoking, and responses to this prospect ranged from jubilation to cynicism, from fond nostalgia to fantastic visions of the future.
Each of the eight thematic sections in Foto brings together work made between 1918 and 1945 from across the region, comparing individual or local differences against the larger heritage sketched here of common institutions and attitudes toward “the modern.”

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Readings

Media Format:

Graphics/Photos, Text/HTML

Conditions of Use:

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