
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.

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.


In this groundbreaking and elegantly written study, Joseph Koerner establishes the character of Renaissance art in Germany. Opening up new modes of inquiry for historians of art and early modern Europe, Koerner examines how artists such as Albrecht Durer and Hans Baldung Grien reflected in their masterworks the changing status of the self in sixteenth-century Germany.
A] dazzling book. . . . He has turned out one of the most powerful, as well as one of the most ambitious, art-historical works of the last decade. -- Anthony Grafton, New Republic Rich and splendid. . . . Joseph Koerner's book is a dazzling display of scholarship, enfolding Durer's artistic achievement within the broader issues of self and salvation, and like Durer's] great Self-Portrait it holds up a mirror to the modern fable of identity. -- Bruce Boucher, The Times Remarkable and densely argued. -- Marcia Pointon, British Journal of Aesthetics Herculean and brilliant. . . . Will echo in fields beyond the Sixteenth-Century and Art History. -- Larry Silver, Sixteenth Century Journal May be the most ambitious of recent American reflections on the mysteries of German art. His elegantly written book deals with the fateful period in the history of German art when it reached its highest point. . . . Offers deeper and more disturbing insights into German Renaissance art than most earlier scholarship. -- Willibald Sauerlander, New York Review of Books

- The first book of its kind - Explores the childhood works of renowned artists, highlighting the cultural differences of their backgrounds - A semi-biographical celebration of childhood creativity The catalogue presents more than 60 childhood and adolescent drawings by artists who are now internationally renowned. The works, selected by the artists themselves, provide insight into sketches and paintings that they made when they were between four and fifteen years old. Many of the pictures show typical childlike motifs; others reflect the different cultures and political systems from which the artists originate. Norbert Bisky, who grew up in the German Democratic Republic, painted a military parade when he was seven, while Katja Strunz shows us bourgeois West German idylls. With childlike strokes, Tal R, born in Israel, draws armed men, tanks, warships and air raids, while Ralf Ziervogel makes ink tracings of Hollywood posters. The beginnings of well-known artists have never before been examined in such detail. The book provides an intimate insight into the artists' childhood worlds.

Presenting unique and in-depth collaborations and editions with leading international artists, Parkett is one of the leading publications on contemporary art. Parkett No. 62 features Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand and John Wesley, three artists from different generations and backgrounds who deal with themes of representation and reception, artificiality and naturalness, fact and fiction, history and perception, and the stylized and the factual in painting, photography and film.