Art and life in modernist Prague : Karel Čapek and his generation, 1911-1938 / Thomas Ort.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ort, Thomas, author.

Series:

Palgrave studies in cultural and intellectual history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Čapek, Karel, 1890-1938--Criticism and interpretation.

Čapek, Karel.

Čapek, Karel, 1890-1938.

Arts, Czech--20th century--History and criticism.

Arts, Czech.

Czech literature--20th century--History and criticism.

Czech literature.

Criticism and interpretation.

Prague (Czech Republic)--Intellectual life--20th century.

Prague (Czech Republic).

Physical Description:

xiii, 258 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Summary:

In most histories of Europe before the First World War, modern life in Habsburg Mitteleuropa takes on a decidedly gloomy cast. Centering on Vienna in the twilight years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such accounts describe the failure of rationalism and the rise of a dangerous politics of fantasy. This book tells a different story, highlighting a generation of Czech writers and artists distinguished by their affirmative encounter with the modern world in the first decades of the twentieth century. Novelist and playwright Karel Capek, along with other members of his cohort, embraced the possibilities of the post-Habsburg era. Tracing the roots of Capek's generation to cubist art and turn-of-the-century philosophy, author Thomas Ort shows that the form of modernism they championed led not into the thickets of fascism or communism but in fact closer to liberal political ideals. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Prague 1911: The Cubist City 31

2 Between Life and Form: Karel Capek and the Prewar Modernist Generation 61

3 The Lessons of Life: Karel Capek and the First World War 95

4 Art ≠ Life: The Capek Generation and Devetsil in Interwar Czechoslovakia 119

5 The Self as Empty Space and Crowd: Karel Capek and the Czechoslovak Condition 153.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-246) and index.

ISBN:

9780230113626

0230113621

OCLC:

811729072