Primitivism and Modern Art is a revealing account of the crucial relationship between the ‘primitive’ and the most influential developments in modern art.

Many modern artists looked both to the art and to the world-view of the 'primitive' as a means of challenging established beliefs, but the 'primitive to which they turned was as varied as the movements in modern art.

Colin Rhodes breaks new ground, drawing on a wide and diverse range of material, from high art to popular entertainment and from Darwin to Freud: the critical overview he presents supercedes all previous studies on the subject.

ISBN 0500202761