Realism

　　Art imitates life in the work of the realists. Through painting, photography, and sculpture, 20th century realists invoke reality in works that capture what Freud called “the uncanny”—the inexplicable strangeness of something which seems at once real and not real.

Featured artists include:

　　Arman, Francis Bacon, Balthus, Max Beckmann, Robert Bechtle, Karl Blossfeldt, Isaac Israilewitch Brodsky, Cagnaccio di San Pietro, Vija Celmins, Chuck Close, Alexander Dejneka, Otto Dix, Walker Evans, Eric Fischl, Lucian Freud, Leon Golub, Duane Hanson, Edward Hopper, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, Tamara Lempicka, Wolfgang Mattheuer, Giorgio Morandi, Ron Mueck, Felix Nussbaum, Gordon Parks, Philip Pearlstein, Anton Raderscheidt, Gerhard Richter, Diego Rivera, Christian Schad, Charles Sheeler, Ben Shahn, Daniel Spoerri, and Werner Tubke

　　TASCHEN's Basic Art movement and genre series: each book includes a detailed introduction with approximately 30 photographs, plus a timeline of the most important events (political, cultural, scientific, sporting, etc.) that took place during the time period. The body of the book contains a selection of the most important works of the epoch; each is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and, on the facing page, a description/interpretation of the work, a reference work, portrait of the artist, quotes, and biographical information.

　　The author: Kerstin Stremmel studied art history and German literature in Cologne and Bonn and received her doctorate in 2000. She lives in Cologne, working as a freelance writer for, among others, the Neue Zurcher Zeitung. She currently holds a post as visiting lecturer at the Hochschule fur Gestaltung und Kunst in Zurich.