Before the Fall German and Austrian Art in the 1930s

This generously illustrated and comprehensive book examines German and Austrian artists in the 1930s as they reacted to a time of crisis and dissent.

The 1930s in Germany and Austria were marked by economic crisis, political disintegration, and social chaos. This beautifully illustrated catalog surveys the development of the arts in these two countries between the two World Wars. Presenting nearly 150 paintings and works on paper, this book reveals artistic developments that foreshadowed, reflected, and accompanied the beginning of World War II. Works by Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Max Ernst, Oskar Kokoschka, and Alfred Kubin are presented alongside pieces by lesser-known artists such as Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, Albert Paris Gütersloh, Karl Hubbuch, Richard Oelze, Josef Scharl, Franz Sedlacek, and Rudolf Wacker. This book features essays about the appropriation of artistic idioms, the reactions of artists toward their historical circumstances, and major political events that shaped the era.

Olaf Peters is Professor of Modern Art at Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg and the author of Degenerate Art: The Attack on Modern Art in Nazi Germany 1937 and Berlin Metropolis: 1918-1933 (both by Prestel).