Charles I

During his reign, King Charles I (1600-1649) assembled one of Europe's most extraordinary art collections. Indeed, by the time of his death, it contained some 2,000 paintings and sculptures. 'Charles I: King and Collector' explores the origins of the collection, the way it was assembled and what it came to represent. Authoritative essays provide a revealing historical context for the formation of the King's taste. They analyse key areas of the collection, such as the Italian Renaissance, and how the paintings that Charles collected influenced the contemporary artists he commissioned. Following Charles's execution, his collection was sold. This book, which accompanies the exhibition, reunites its most important works in sumptuous detail. Featuring paintings by such masters as Van Dyck, Rubens and Raphael, this striking publication offers a unique insight into this fabled collection. "Over a period of only two decades in the first half of the seventeenth century, King Charles I assembled one of the most spectacular art collections ever seen. Over 2,000 paintings and sculptures by such artists as Titian, Mantegna, Holbein, Dürer, Rubens and Van Dyck filled London's royal palaces and became the envy of the most magnficient courts of Europe. Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649, and over the following years his collection was scattered. This book reassembles his exceptional collection, and explores how and why he became the pre-eminent art collector of his age."