ABSTRACT
The sixteenth century was the greatest single century in the history o f European art. Between 1500 and 1600 more o f the finest paintings and frescoes o f Europe were painted, and in a greater and more contrasting variety o f styles, than in any other similar period. If the same cannot be said with equal conviction o f sculpture and architecture, yet these arts too achieved a most remarkable number and range o f triumphs. Any attempt to give a comprehensive history o f these achievements, in the space here available, and without illustrations, would soon deteriorate into a mere list o f great artists and their masterpieces. We have therefore attempted to show the art, music and natural science o f the sixteenth century not so much for their intrinsic values — these can easily be studied in the many excellent and illustrated books specifically devoted to them — than as functions and achievements o f the creative energies o f the men o f the period and the societies they lived in.
