Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Madrid, Spain
October 7, 2008 – January 11, 2009
Curated by Javier Arnaldo
The period inmediately prior to the outbreak of war in 1914 coincided with a highpoint of activity among the avant-garde movements. In addition, the experience of World War I exercised a powerful influence on the work of numerous artist during this period. Featuring around 180 works, this exhibition offers a survey of the development of new international art between approximately 1913 and 1917. Through the work of dozens of artist from the main artistic movements of the day -Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism, Abstraction, etc.- it reflects this artistically conflictive period. The exhibition looks at the different trends in new international art at this time; the role that the avant-garde assumed in relation to the events of the war (often a prophetic or apocalyptic one); and the way that the new cultural languages were able to express pro-war attitudes or denunciatory ones in the face of the madness of the conflict.
