Hans Belting (1935–2023) is rightfully considered an outstanding historian and theorist of art of the second half of the 20th — first quarter of the 21st centuries. Not many of his texts have been translated into Russian, but it is unlikely that there is a modern art researcher to whom this name does not mean anything.

This book is compiled from two editions: the German-language version, “The End of Art History” (1995), and its English-language version, “The History of Art after Modernism” (2003), in which the author updated a number of his thoughts. Despite the somewhat loud original title, in his book Belting does not write about apocalyptic visions of the end of time, nor about the end of the historical process. Not death, not the end, but rebirth — that is what really interests him.

In his study, the scientist tried to formulate the basic principles of a new discipline, which, in his opinion, should replace the outdated method of classical art science. The global transformations that took place at the turn of the millennium prompted him to develop a new approach to solving pressing issues related to the development of the contemporary artistic process, as well as to a consistent re-evaluation of the legacy of past eras.