Western Art and the Wider World explores the evolving relationship between the Western canon of art as it has developed since the Renaissance and the art and culture of those in the Islamic world, the Far East, Australasia, Africa and the Americas.

List of Illustrations viii Acknowledgments x Introduction 1 1 Renaissance and Old World 12 2 Enlightenment and New World 52 3 Modernism and Modern World 100 4 Avant-Garde, Contemporary, and Globalized World 185 5 “World Art History” and “Contemporary Art” 253 Index 292

In our truly globalized world of the 21st century, 'world art' can finally take its place on center stage. Yet there remains a pressing need for a theoretically-informed and historically wide-ranging study of key changes in the relationship between the modern Western artistic canon and those it has traditionally excluded. Western Art and the Wider World explores the origins, influences, and evolving relationship between the Western canon of art as it has developed since the Renaissance and the art and culture of other societies—including those in the Islamic world, the Far East, Australasia, Africa and the Americas. Chapters explore a wide range of topics at the intersection of Western and non-Western artistic traditions, including such themes as the Renaissance encounter with the Ottoman Empire, the debate over Orientalism, the impact of Japanese art on the 19th-century French avant-garde, and the much disputed discourse of ‘primitivism.’ A concluding chapter offers fresh insights into contemporary debates about the globalization of art practice and the disputed notion of a ‘world art history.’ Western Art and the Wider World makes great strides in furthering the intellectual discussion on the changing relationship between Western and non-Western art throughout the extended modern period.

"Western Art and the Wider World is certainly a timely myth-buster in terms of current anxieties and panics about the demise of the West’s supposed cultural and economic place at the centre of things. Wood traces a long history of admiration and indebtedness to the East – in terms of knowledge, art, commerce and governance. He also asserts that the history of western ‘cultural dominance’ has been relatively short – less than 200 years in his reckoning. Western Art and the Wider World tells stories of exchange, parity and mutual curiosity between the West and rest." (The Visual Artists’ News Sheet, 1 March 2014) "A cautious, open-minded attempt to write about the history of Western Art form the Renaissance through the early and late modernist era, as it encountered, and was encountered by, the rest of the world." (Art Review, 1 March 2014)

“This is a truly important book, essential reading for anyone looking for critical insight into how understandings of Western art and its history are being reshaped by the increasingly globalized conditions of artistic culture.” – Alex Potts, University of Michigan, USA “Any reader wanting to traverse the complex terrain of world art could find no wiser, more judicious or better-written guide than Paul Wood’s Western Art and the Wider World.  His learning in history, philosophy, and contemporary debates is deep but carried lightly.  His voice will reach both novice and professional readers in a most timely contribution.”  –Thomas E. Crow, New York University, USA “An important and timely intervention in the contested territory of world art. Combining extensive historical research with incisive awareness of contemporary debates, this book both challenges and expands our understanding of Western art within a global context.” –Fionna Barber, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK