The early twentieth-century avant-gardes (cubism, futurism, expressionism, Dadaism, constructivism and many other –isms) to a large extent define modern art and writing. Yet today still avant-garde works strike many as strange or difficult. How do we properly read a cubist painting or a Dada sound poem? What is the difference between futurist and constructivist architecture? What made the avant-gardes so vital as well to the arts of dance and theatre, film and music, photography and sculpture? Structured like a Duchampian boîte-en-valise, this engaging and insightful introduction is designed to answer all these questions and more. The European Avant-Gardes, 1905-1935. A portable Guide sketches the cultural, scientific, technological and political contexts in which the avant-gardes operated, taking readers on a journey throughout the whole of Europe, from London to Moscow, and back. It discusses the most salient features of the avant-gardes’ work in all the arts and succinctly surveys all major avant-garde movements. Clearly written, this book aims to encourage all students of modernism and of the modern arts to appreciate the breath and richness of Europe’s now classic avant-gardes.