"Richard Brettell's innovative account explores the aims and achievements - the beautiful and the bizarre - of artists such as Monet, Gauguin, Picasso, and Dali, in relation to urban capitalism and expansion, colonialism, nationalism and internationalism, and the museum. Tracing common themes of representation, imagination, perception, and sexuality across works in a wide range of different media, he presents a fresh approach to the fine art and photography of this remarkable era."--Jacket.