Writing in the early nineteenth century, the French traveler and cleric Abbe Huc exclaimed: "There is, perhaps, not a people in the world who carry so far their taste and passion for theatrical entertainments as the Chinese". Although the spectacle o...

Since its launching in 1999, "Afterall", a journal of art, context and enquiry, has offered in-depth considerations of the work of contemporary artists, along with essays that broaden the context in which to understand it. Published three times a yea...

German artist Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948) is best known for his pioneering work in fusing collage and abstraction, the two most transformative innovations of twentieth-century art. Considered the father of installation art, Schwitters was also a theo...

One of the most admired artists of the twentieth century, Max Ernst was a proponent of Dada and founder of surrealism, known for his strange, evocative paintings and drawings. In "Prehistoric Future", Ralph Ubl approaches Ernst like no one else has,...

Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) was a French artist whose work heralded the realist movement of the nineteenth century and his paintings have had a profound influence on other artists from around the world, including Claude Monet, James McNeill Whistler,...

The years before World War I were a time of social and political ferment in Europe, which profoundly affected the art world. A major center of this creative tumult was Paris, where many avant-garde artists sought to transform modern art through their...

Dutch painter Piet Mondrian died in New York City in 1944, but his work and legacy have been far from static since then. From market pressures to personal relationships and scholarly agendas, posthumous factors have repeatedly transformed our underst...

"The Metropolitan Museum Journal", issued annually by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, publishes original research on works in the Museum's collections and the areas of investigation they represent. Volume 47 includes essays on the Tell Basta Treausur...

Since its launching in 1999, "Afterall", a journal of art, context and enquiry, has offered in-depth considerations of the work of contemporary artists, along with essays that broaden the context in which to understand it. Published three times a yea...

"Afterall", a journal of art, context, and enquiryoffers in-depth considerations of the work of contemporary artists, along with essays that broaden the context in which to understand it. Published three times a year, "Afterall" also features essays...