Cubists and Post-Impressionism — Key Ideas to Explore

Eddy's Method: Quotation as Argument

Eddy builds his case largely through extended quotations from artists and their defenders. The chapter on Kandinsky, for instance, reproduces a long letter in which the painter dismisses the notion that modernists 'paint that way because they can't draw.' Kandinsky insists that technical facility is easily acquired—'even a poodle-dog might learn how to draw'—but that true art requires an 'inner self' expressed in an 'entirely original form.' Eddy lets these statements stand with minimal commentary, trusting the reader to weigh the artist's own words. This method gives the book a documentary quality: it preserves the voices of the movement's protagonists as they argued for their work in the early 1910s. The result is less a unified thesis than a mosaic of perspectives, with Eddy acting as curator rather than critic.

The Spiritual in Matter: Kandinsky's Influence

Eddy devotes considerable space to Wassily Kandinsky, whose theoretical writings—particularly the essay 'On the Question of Form' in Der Blaue Reiter—are paraphrased at length. Kandinsky's central claim, as Eddy presents it, is that 'the creative spirit is hidden in the matter, behind the material manifestation through which it must make itself known.' The artist's task is to penetrate the 'material envelope' and convey a spiritual content that most viewers cannot see. Eddy connects this to a broader critique of the nineteenth century as 'a century of materialism,' suggesting that modern art's apparent strangeness is a necessary response to a culture that has lost sight of inner truths. This section of the book shifts from descriptive analysis to something closer to advocacy, as Eddy aligns himself with Kandinsky's vision of art as a vehicle for spiritual renewal.

Pace and Structure: From Scandal to Theory

The book's fifteen chapters move at an uneven pace, reflecting Eddy's dual role as journalist and theorist. Early chapters—'A Sensation,' 'Post-Impressionism,' 'Les Fauves'—are brisk and anecdotal, recounting the public's hostile reception and the critics' dismissive labels. But as the book progresses, the tempo slows: 'What is Cubism?' and 'The Theory of Cubism' are dense with philosophical exposition, while 'Color Music' and 'Esoragoto' venture into speculative territory. The final chapters on Futurism and sculpture return to a more reportorial tone, cataloging works and exhibitions. This variation in pace mirrors the subject itself: the initial shock of the new gives way to the harder work of understanding its principles. Eddy does not resolve the tension between sensation and theory; instead, he lets the reader experience both.

Eddy's book is best read as a contemporary document rather than a definitive history. Its value lies in the immediacy of its sources—the letters, manifestos, and exhibition reviews that Eddy gathered while the debates were still ongoing. Readers interested in the Armory Show's aftermath or the early reception of European modernism in America will find a wealth of primary material, though they should supplement it with later scholarship. Eddy's own biases are clear: he champions the spiritual ambitions of Kandinsky and the formal innovations of Picasso while dismissing the Futurists' more aggressive posturing. The book remains a vivid snapshot of a moment when the meaning of modern art was still very much in dispute.