In this brilliant study of 18th century painting, Michael Levey analyzes in depth an era torn between opposing forces – autocracy and freedom in politics, Rococo and neoclassicism in art – which are nothing more than the manifestation of the fundamental opposition between the conscious and unconscious mind. From Watteau to Goya, the book reviews the most relevant artists of the period and how their painting reflects the turbulent century in which it was produced.
“As an introduction to the painters of the 18th century, I find this book unrivaled” (Raymond Mortimer, The Sunday Times).
“A continuous pleasure. And, as one progresses in reading, pleasure is joined by respect” (Edward Lude-Smith).
