This volume investigates the evolution of aesthetic theory and the conceptual shifts that defined the transition from Impressionism to the abstract innovations of Wassily Kandinsky. Moshe Barasch, a distinguished scholar of art history, utilizes a rigorous analytical framework to trace how artists and critics articulated the purpose of art during this period of rapid stylistic change. By examining primary source texts and manifestos, the author reconstructs the intellectual climate that facilitated the move away from representational traditions toward non-objective expression.

Scholars and students of art history frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the intellectual underpinnings of modernism. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a comprehensive look at the philosophical debates that shaped the trajectory of 20th-century art.