The Observer's Book of Modern Art [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION The word "modern" as applied to works of art has acquired shades of meaning not entirely covered by the dictionary definition, "of present or recent times". It is sometimes used, for instance, irrespective of date, to show appreciation of qualities in form and colour which still seem "living" and near to us in feeling, even if produced long ago. "How modern", it is said, are the prehistoric drawings of the European caves. One writer has even given a book the striking title 40,000 Years of Modern Art in order to stress this independence of time. The usage is of value in reminding us that modern art, in a more limited and up-to-date sense of the term, is linked with that of the past, though we have to reckon with another shade of meaning if we confine our attention to the 19th and 20th centuries. It applies to some, but by no means to all, works produced during recent times. Modern art has come to signify a special development with a distinct character. It has branched out in various ways, but it shows, broadly speaking, two main tendencies; the effort of artists to find fresh resource in their medium as a means of expression, and also to create works of art in some way related to the nature and changing conditions of modem life. More than one starting-point may be chosen. There is good reason to begin in the late 19th century and to trace from about the year 1880 the xi t!