Michael Levey, former Director of the National Gallery in London, traces the major trends of European painting in the eighteenth century, taking as his theme the exciting evolution--and revolution--that took place in art from Watteau's birth to the death of Goya. 154 illus., 22 in color.
"Effortlessly, they believed that art was needed, and society agreed with them. Indeed, it is noticeable how, through all the variations of artistic style the eighteenth century produced, no really great painter was neglected by the century. For each revolution art performed, there seemed a public ready to applaud."
This book was a great overview for 18th century art. Although I felt the book was a bit over critical and quick to find fault in artists at times, this book does a wonderful job linking art and artists to social and political issues happening in the 18th century.
while I'm sure this book has it's audience, I am certainly not it. it embodies almost everything I despise about the field of art history. I had thought I would have arrived at a better understanding of the subject matter, but now I only feel contempt towards it. would probably be better as an assigned reading for a class or lecture.