Paris has been the birthplace of many of the most significant artistic movements of the 20th century. This ambitious book, which accompanies an important exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, and at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, charts the progress of the visual arts across Paris from the beginnings of Cubism in Montmartre to the rise of Surrealism in Montparnasse, to the postwar existentialism of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and ultimately to the political and artistic uprisings of the 1960s in the Latin Quarter.

An illustrated time line traces, year by year, the accomplishments of notable Paris-based artists such as Picasso, Léger, Duchamp, Modigliani, Brancusi, Kandinsky, Calder, and Saint-Phalle. With essays by esteemed international scholars and 400 full- color images, this book considers the multinational origins and impact of the art of these incredibly fertile decades.