The Sale of the Late King's Goods

Jerry Brotton's "The Sale of the Late King's Goods" plunges readers into the tumultuous 17th century, a period defined by civil war, revolution, and the execution of King Charles I. This critically acclaimed work meticulously traces the dramatic journey of one of history's most magnificent and subsequently lost art collections. Following Charles I's death, Cromwell's republican regime, facing immense royal debts and military funding needs, enacted an unprecedented Parliamentary Act to sell off nearly 2,000 priceless artifacts – paintings, tapestries, sculptures, and drawings. Brotton masterfully reconstructs this extraordinary sale, which saw ordinary citizens for the first time gain access to masterpieces by the greatest artists. Moving across London, Venice, Mantua, Madrid, Paris, and the Low Countries, the book not only illuminates the mechanics of this massive dispersal but also profoundly explores the enduring entanglement of art and power. It offers a vivid portrait of a cultural upheaval, ultimately revealing how the foundations of today's Royal Collection were laid amidst such turbulent beginnings and the tragic fate of a king's aesthetic legacy.