The Modern Ideal: The Rise and Collapse of Idealism in the Visual Arts from the Enlightenment to Postmodernism

Over the past three centuries, artists, craftspeople, and designers have engaged with modernization as a way to make sense of the changes it imposes. This exciting new book is a groundbreaking examination of modernity, beginning in the 18th-century Enlightenment movement. It considers the pivotal question in today's turbulent, post-postmodern era: What is art for and where is it going?

Surveying issues in the contemporary art and design scene and speculating about the next phase of modern practice, this landmark volume positions the rise and collapse of idealism in modern art as being of central concern. Concepts that are essential to the meaning of modernity-style, progress, and universality-are explored, as are movements across all disciplines, from neoclassicism to postmodernism. The thought-provoking text will stimulate anyone with an interest in the history of ideas in the arts.

Paul Greenhalgh was formerly Head of Research at the V&A. He organized the hugely successful exhibition Art Nouveau 1890-1914 and edited the accompanying book. He is currently president of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.