Dissertation on the Progress of the Fine Arts

"Dissertation on the Progress of the Fine Arts" by John Robert Scott is a study that embodies what we can now see as a final development in his century's deep concern to understand why the greatest art had somehow not been forthcoming in what it as often claimed was the greatest century. The main interest lies in Scott's notions of the kind of society needed to produce major art, and beyond hoping to make it a reality in his own time. He chooses to write almost entirely about the fine arts. Some important personalities included in this book include William III (England) Henry IV (France), Cardinal Ximenes, Cardinal Richelieu, Augustus Cæsar, Lewis XIV, etc.