Following World War I, there began an art movement in parts of Europe to bring back classic forms – “return to order,” synthesis, organization, and enduring values, rather than the pre-War emphasis on innovation-at-all-costs, would dominate the discourse of contemporary art.“ 
The Guggenheim Museum presents:
“Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy, and Germany, 1918–1936 will be the first exhibition in the United States to focus upon this international phenomenon and to examine its manifestations in all media. Among the artists represented are Balthus, Jean Cocteau, Giorgio de Chirico, Otto Dix, Hannah Höch, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Pablo Picasso, and August Sander.“
Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy, and Germany, 1918–1936
Until January 9, 2011
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 5th Avenue (at 89th Street), NYC
(Image: “Woman Holding a Vase”, 1927 – Fernand Léger)