Introduction. A Few Opening Historiographical Remarks
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Description | Between 1900 and the inter-war period, we observe a radical shift in the perception of Central European art: the First World War catalyzed a new understanding of “cultural” heritage largely in national terms (i.e. “national heritage”). Paradoxically, such a tendency grew even stronger after the Second World War. The Nazi genocide, followed by the expulsion of German and other minorities from Central European countries, transformed modern society from the ground up. After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, scholars sought to put forward an updated, “transcultural” perspective on the space of Mitteleuropa. Jiří Kroupa was certainly one of the leading figures in this process, since his scholarship systematically connected Moravia with France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and beyond. As an intellectual heir of Viennese scholars such as Max Dvořák, he constructed a non-nationalistic perspective on Central European art, combining local approaches with a truly global erudition. |