Published to accompany the landmark opening of the V&A’s new Europe 1600 - 1800 galleries, The Arts of Living explores the breadth, depth and beauty of the V&A’s seventeenth- and eighteenth-century collections. Written by a team of experts, this book provides an overview of more than two centuries of cultural development and artistic endeavour.

Masterpieces such as the Serilly Cabinet and Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s terracotta for his funeral monument the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni are contextualized alongside discussions of Louis XIV’s patronage and the seventeenth-century Dutch interior. Many works are shown for the first time, including Count BruÌ hl’s Meissen fountain and actor David Garrick’s tea service.