Theodore K Rabb's contemplative book offers a new interpretation of the seventeenth century Europe, focusing on a crucial transition from turmoil to relative tranquility. The book shows, in splendid illustrations, how painters, like writers and scientists, reflected the change that is his main theme - the shift from belligerence to restraint, from upheaval to calm.
Describes the relations of the great European powers when Europe was still the centre of the world.
