Of Modernism

A fascinating cross-section of current research in modernist art history, at the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship, with essays by pupils of the renowned scholar Professor Christopher Green.


Of Modernism brings together twelve original essays by leading scholars in modernist art history, offering new perspectives on key questions in European modernism. From major themes such as theatre imagery in the art of the First World War, modern art and theosophy, modernism and the bullfight, or the modernist grid and the figure of the tangle, to specific case studies on Seurat’s reception, the archaeology of the Demoiselles d’Avignon, cubism and crystallography, or Picasso’s poetry, these richly illustrated texts present a fascinating cross-section of current research in modernist art history, at the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship.

Taken as a whole, the essays pay tribute to the authors’ common formation at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where all the contributors trained under the supervision of Professor Christopher Green. With major books such as Léger and the Avant-Garde (1976), Cubism and its Enemies (1987), Art in France 1900-1940 (2000), Picasso: Architecture and Vertigo (2005), and exhibitions such as Juan Gris (Whitechapel Gallery, 1992), Roger Fry: Art Made Modern (Courtauld Institute of Art, 2000), Rousseau: Jungles in Paris (Tate Modern and Musée d’Orsay, 2005), and Cubism and War: The Crystal in the Flame (Museu Picasso, Barcelona, 2016), Green has made a crucial contribution to the historiography of European modernism. As a teacher at the Courtauld Institute, his wide-ranging scholarship and generosity of mind have inspired several generations of students, many of whom have gone on to lead distinguished careers in the worlds of art and academia. Of Modernism is a collection written in his honour.
The distinguished contributors, who number among themselves both museum curators and academic art historians, include Fay Brauer (University of East London), Grace Brockington (University of Bristol), Penelope Curtis (Museu Calouste Gulbenkian), Linda Goddard (University of St Andrews), Nancy Ireson (Tate), William Jeffett (Dali Museum), Silvia Loreti (University of Manchester), David Lomas (UCL), C.F.B Miller (Courtauld Institute of Art), Lara Pucci (University of Nottingham), Gavin Parkinson (University of Oxford), and Sarah Victoria Turner (Paul Mellon Centre).