Modern Times

In the early twentieth century, technology played an increasing role in how people worked, communicated and relaxed, and also influenced how artists represented a fast-changing world.

Artists wanted to capture the speed of modern transportation, the rapid pace of industrialisation and the transformative power of technology. They turned their attention to distinctly urban subjects such as factories and street scenes. The experience of modern leisure was another key theme, whether in busy cafés or at the circus and carnival. In these lively and sometimes riotous public spaces, social conventions were changing and people mixed and interacted in new ways.

Alongside these new subjects came new techniques to express the city’s dynamism in paint, sculpture and photography. Perspectives were fractured and multiplied, as artists tried to portray a world viewed by a restless, moving eye. Contemporary life was present even in abstract art as artists included words referring to communication and travel, and shapes evoking modern architecture and fashion.