Hans Belting (1935–1923) is rightly considered one of the leading historians and theorists of late-twentieth- and early-twenty-first-century art. Few of his texts are translated to Russian, although most of those involved in art research know his name.
This book is made up of two publications: the German volume Das Ende der Kunstgeschichte? (1983) and its English version Art History After Modernism (2003), in which the author updated a number of his thoughts. Despite the striking original title, Belting writes about the end of the historical process rather than apocalyptic visions of the end of time. His interest is not in death or the end but in rebirth.
Belting attempted to formulate the basic principles of the new discipline which he believed would replace the outdated method of classical art history. The global transformations that took place at the turn of the century prompted him to develop a new approach to everyday questions of the development of contemporary art and to make a logical reappraisal of the legacy of past centuries.
