Transfixed by Prehistory: An Inquiry into Modern Art and Time

An examination of how modern art was impacted by the concept of prehistory and the prehistoric

Prehistory is an invention of the late nineteenth century. In that moment of technological progress and acceleration of production and circulation, three major Western narratives about time took shape. One after another, these new fields of inquiry delved into the obscure immensity of the past: first, to surmise the age of the Earth; second, to find the point of emergence of human beings; and third...