Art, Architecture and Politics

This is an authoritative summary of the changing visual arts in Britain during a turbulent century, viewing art and architecture in a political context. It provides a synthesis of recent studies and dispenses with some persistent misconceptions, not least that royal and aristocratic patronage of the arts took place in a vacuum, independently of the rest of society. The increasing influence of the Continent on British art and architecture is a central theme, as is the relationship between art and religion. Covering the period from the accession of James I to the death of Queen Anne, the Companion as a whole provides 'a magisterial overview' of the 'long' seventeenth century in British history.