The dominant genre for two centuries, history painting seemed to have vanished after the long period of the avant-garde and modernism, except in countries with totalitarian regimes that employed it extensively. However, its revival by contemporary and postmodern art remains paradoxical and surprising. It can be argued that a substantial, perhaps even majority, portion of current artistic production uses the history genre, consciously or unconsciously, with political, ethical, or simply moralizing intent. To bring order to and delve deeper into this matter, six essays by renowned specialists— Félix de Azúa (editor of this volume), Jordi Ibáñez , Francisca Pérez Carreño , Gerard Vilar , Boris Buden , and Lars Bang Larsen —are presented, approaching the issue from diverse perspectives: criticism, reflection, exposition, advocacy, and information.

Essayist, novelist, poet, and translator Félix de Azúa (Barcelona, ​​1944) is Professor of Aesthetics at the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Author of the novels * Historia de un idiota contada por él mismo* (1986), * Diario de un hombre humillado * (1987; Herralde Prize), * Demasiadas preguntas* (1994), and *Momentos decisivos * (2000), he has also written, among other works, the essays *Baudelaire * (1978), * La Venecia de Casanova * (1990), and *La invención de Caín* (2001). His poetry is collected in the volume *Última sangre. Poesía 1968-2007 * (2007). A regular contributor to the newspapers *El País* and *El Periódico *, he recently published *Autobiografía sin vida* (2010).