Here is a fresh, exhilarating approach to the history of twentieth-century art. Rejecting the year-by-year

sequential approach of conventional accounts, author Bernard Blistène tackles the subject

thematically, using key works as a springboard to understanding the ideas and techniques of

the major artists of the century.

The book encompasses the visual arts in the broadest sense of the term. In addition to painting,

sculpture and the new art forms of the postwar era, it covers architecture, photography, industrial

design and video. Each chapter treats a different theme - from Fauvism to film, Dada to design -

providing :

- a general overview of the movement or period in question

- numerous illustrations of particular works, each accompanied by brief explanatory texts

- chronologies detailing important events within and around the world of art

- bibliographies and suggested museum visits for each movement.

With over 500 illustrations, A History of 20^th-Century Art provides a lucid and compelling introduction

to artistic creation in the last century.

Bernard Blistène, formerly Deputy Director of the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris (Centre George

Pompidou), is Chief Curator of the Musées de France and has recently been appointed Inspecter General of Fine

Arts at the French Ministry of Culture. He has written several books and curated key exhibitions including

"Rendezvous: Masterpieces from the Centre George Pompidou and the Guggenheim Museums" (Solomon R.

Guggenheim Museum, 1998), and "Premises: Invested Spaces in Visual Arts, Architecture, and Design from

Frince, 1958-1998" (Guggenheim Museum SoHo, 1998).