The painting of modern life

Book • 1999
T. J.

Clark's "The Painting of Modern Life" is a seminal work in art history that examines the relationship between art, society, and politics in 19th-century France.

Clark's analysis focuses on the social and historical contexts of paintings, moving beyond purely formalist interpretations.

He explores how paintings reflect and shape social relations, particularly concerning class, gender, and power.

The book is known for its insightful readings of specific artworks and its broader theoretical framework for understanding art's engagement with its social environment.

Clark's work has significantly influenced the field of art history, prompting a more socially engaged and historically informed approach to art criticism.

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Asia Adomanis
in relation to the book's engagement with modernist theory.
Jaleh Mansoor, "Universal Prostitution and Modernist Abstraction: A Counterhistory" (Duke UP, 2025)

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