The relation between artistic creativity and political engagement goes far back in time, but it reached an unusual degree of intensity in the last century.

This intensity was spurred on, amongst other things, by the rapid and far-reaching social transformations in western society, including industrialisation, the development of communication media and the growth of a consumer society. Driven by these and other phenomena, the cultural world began to be troubled by numerous political concerns-both conservative and progressivethat ultimately found expression in the visual arts. Thanks to the immediacy and powerful impact of images, art provided an ideal vehicle for transmitting particular attitudes and ideological positions.