Duh impresionizma i secesije : Hrvatska moderna

The book is not a linear history, but a collection of independent, but thematically connected studies – typical of Žmegač’s style: precise analysis, comparative approach, emphasis on style and intermediality (literature and other arts). It is one of the key references for the study of Croatian modernism in the 20th century, often cited in works on Matoš, Art Nouveau in literature and fin-de-siècle culture. This is a professional, academic book – not a popular synthesis, but an in-depth analysis for students of Croatian studies, comparative studies and literary history. The main topic – literary Croatian modernism (late 19th and early 20th centuries, the so-called Croatian modernism 1892–1914/1918) viewed through the lens of impressionism and art nouveau as the dominant spiritual and stylistic trends of that period. Žmegač does not only talk about the visual arts, but about the "spirit" of the era that permeates literature: sensuality, the moment, subjectivity, decorativeness, eroticism, decadence, but also the crisis of identity in the fin-de-siècle atmosphere.