This lavishly illustrated book examines Berlin in depth during a period of explosive growth between the two world wars. Between 1871 and 1919, the population of Berlin quadrupled,
and the city became the political center of Germany, as well as the turbulent crossroads of the modern age. This was reflected in the work of artists, directors, writers, and critics of the time. As an imperial capital, Berlin was the site of violent political revolution and radical aesthetic innovation. After the German
defeat in World War I, artists employed collage to challenge
traditional concepts of art. Berlin Dadaists reflected upon
the horrors of war, and the terrors of revolution and civil war.
Between 1924 and 1929 as the spirit of modernity took hold,
jazz, posters, magazines, advertisements, and cinema played
a central role in the development of Berlin's urban experience.
The concept of the "Neue Frau"--the modern, emancipated
woman-helped move the city in a new direction. Finally, Berlin
became a stage for political confrontation between the left
and the right and was deeply affected by the economic crisis
and mass unemployment at the end of the 1920s. This book
explores in numerous essays and illustrations the artistic,
cultural, and social upheavals in Berlin between 1918 and 1933,
and places them in a broader historical framework.

In German Encounters with Modernism, Peter Paret traces the reception of modern art, from the 1840s through the Nazi era, through the lens of social and political developments in Germany. Addressing broad cultural topics, such as the early history of Expressionism, the role of anti-Semitism in German reactions to modernism, and the impact of World War I on the arts, he also includes new interpretations of the work of artists such as the sculptor Ernst Barlach. Based on new archival discoveries, this study combines a strong narrative approach with interdisciplinary analysis.

The Specks Collection is noted for its high quality, breadth, and profound graphic power. In celebration of the gift to the museum, the collection is presented here for the first time in its entirety.

German Expressionism was an extraordinarily vivid presence in the art of the early twentieth century, its violent colors and often distorted, stylized forms reflecting not only the rebellious spirit of its participants, but the revolutionary mood of the new century itself. One of the most popular media used by the German Expressionists was the woodcut, important in the history of German art from the time of Albrecht D rer (1471-1528), and especially suited to Expressionism's bold graphics.
This superb collection presents over 100 finely reproduced woodcuts from the work of nearly 30 major artists in the movement who worked in the woodcut medium. Among them are Ernst Barlach, Max Beckmann, Lyonel Feininger, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, K the Kollwitz, Franz Marc, Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein, and many others. Most of the woodcuts reproduced here date from the first three decades of the twentieth century. They are powerful works, ranging in mood from Felix M ller's pensive portrait of Carl Sternheim (1925) to Franz Marc's electric Riding School (1913) and Ernst Barlach's profoundly moving Christ on the Mount of Olives (1920).
Readers interested in the art of the woodcut as well as students and enthusiasts of twentieth-century art will find this volume ideal for browsing and study. Individual captions for each selection, notes on each artist, and an informative introduction to the art of the woodcut and the German Expressionist movement add to the book's value as a reference work.