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Documenta 1

first documenta edition

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 13, 2026
Entity authorityQ265378 ↗
Source-derived summary

The first Documenta took place between 15 July and 18 September 1955 in Kassel, West Germany. The artistic director was Arnold Bode. It was considered the largest and most extensive exhibition of modern art in West Germany since the end of the Second World War.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Documenta 1” is first documenta edition. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Documenta, first and documenta, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1955—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Documenta, first and documenta is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “first documenta edition” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q265378. VIAF identifies the subject as 169132399. Authority coordinates are 51.314, 9.497. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1955.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Documenta 1”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Documenta 1 primary sources, Documenta 1 archive and Documenta research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Documenta 1”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Documenta 1” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.