«Art is not made to decorate rooms. It is an offensive weapon in the defense against the enemy.»
(Pablo Picasso)
The beginning of the twentieth century was a period marked by intense aesthetic and ideological
research. Caught up in the chaos of historical world conflicts, artists went beyond the simple
role of witnesses to become true players in the unstable atmosphere. Well-aware of their
influence, painters, sculptors and architects, each with their own media, attempted to inform the
public about contemporary issues or solve problems caused by cultures advancing at a rapid
assembly-line speed. Picasso’s masterpiece Guernica remains to this day the ultimate symbol of
pacifistic revolts.
Lavishly illustrated, this book will help the reader understand the period when artists adjusted
to the accelerating pace of their world by creating works of timeless modernity.