‘Continuously brilliant and enjoyable’ – Sir Lawrence Gowing, The Observer

‘As an introduction to the eighteenth-century painters this book seems to me unequalled’– Raymond Mortimer, The Sunday Times

‘Brilliant survey of the period … brings freshly into view both the elegance and the wide range of the century in painting’– William Gaunt, The Times

‘A continuous pleasure. And, as one reads on, pleasure is joined by respect’ – Edward Lucie-Smith, Studio International

‘Always knowledgeable, sometimes witty, often genuinely eloquent … it is a real pleasure to read. And keep’ – Arts Review

Sir Michael Levey became deputy keeper of the National Gallery in 1966, keeper in 1968, and finally director in 1973. He was appointed LVO in 1965 and knighted in 1981. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He died in December 2008.

Also of interest
Baroque and Rococo World of Art series