On the Artistic Representation of Industrial Disputes in the Shadow of Repression in European Art

This book is the first volume on the artistic representation of industrial disputes in European art (from 1870 to 1914) since the catalogue of the landmark exhibition Streik, Realität und Mythos, organized by the Deutsches Historisches Museum (1992). It has been written by a group of scholars who share a keen interest in social history and the history of art, as well as in-depth knowledge of industrial relations and collective labour law.

Seeking to transcend a purely western European perspective, the book offers unprecedented insights into artistic production in Poland and Hungary from the 19th century to the communist era. It even goes beyond the European continent, examining the United States and Mexico.

The media explored include painting, sculpture, the graphic arts and photography. Further, the book deals with artists great (Carlo Carrà, Walter Crane, James Ensor, Juan Gris, Käthe Kollwitz, Constantin Meunier,Mihály Munkácsy, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen and Jan Toorop) and small, sometimes even anonymous. The artistic styles range from (social) realism, naturalism and neo-impressionism to futurism and socialist realism.

All stages of industrial disputes (from the causes of strikes to their violent suppression) are subjected to iconographical and iconological analysis, combined with perspectives from visual studies, critical art and gender studies. Agricultural workers, miners, construction workers and textile workers fill the scenes. Most of them are subordinate workers; others are (bogus) independent workers and migrant workers.

Given its scope, the book will be of interest to (art) historians, labour law scholars, and specialists in industrial relations.