The legendary book by the famous art historian and art critic Robert Hughes, “The Shock of Novelty,” was published in 1980. Each of its eight chapters corresponded to the series of the documentary film of the same name, prepared by Robert Hughes in collaboration with the BBC television channel and presented to television viewers with great success in the same 1980. In Hughes' book, art, starting with the avant-garde movements of the late 19th century, appears in close relationship with the surrounding reality, rooted in history. The author demonstrates how significant the experience of the era turns out to be for the art of the modernist era and how for many key movements of art of the 20th century, the search for expressive means in an attempt to describe this experience turns out to be the main creative and driving force. The ingenuity with which Robert Hughes manages to convey this to the reader through a skillfully chosen example, a well-thought-out phrase, is the heart of the success of this book.