by Jon Lackman | 1 June 2007 | Modern
In the most recent issue of The Polish Review (LII: 1), Bozena Shallcross reviews Marek Bartelik’s Early Polish Modern Art: Unity in Multiplicity. Shallcross notes that at least three recent books “research the same area of Polish culture in its historical formation during the [1920s and 30s], focusing on its fascinating field of visual arts and literature crossing with emerging body politic of ethnic minorities/nationalities.” Bartelik’s book “belongs to the category of valuable and informative books, which help to modify standard art history’s focus on the West European canon of art … meticulously placing the works of art in an organic continuity with wider societal forces … the author does not find much use for philosophical and theoretical thought. While this approach, when faithfully practiced, is the polar opposite of what this reviewer adheres to, it is at the same time an approach she respects.”
