Art, Commerce and Colonialism 1600-1800 examines European art, architecture and design of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the light of the continent's growing engagement with the rest of the world. In a series of case studies spanning the globe from Asia to the Americas, it shows how the expansion of intercontinental trade and the proliferation of colonial ventures gave rise to new and diverse forms of visual and material culture. In so doing, it considers ways in which they were shaped by the specific histories and circumstances of the leading European powers, notably Spain, the Netherlands and Britain, as well as by organisations and practice common to several nations, such as the joint-stock company and the slave trade. Among the examples discussed are ornate altarpieces in the cathedrals of colonial Latin America, Dutch still-life paintings of exotic luxury imports, English interior decoration in the Chinoiserie style and the architecture of plantation houses in North America and the Caribbean. Drawing on a wide range of recent scholarship, the book proposes a new history of European art from 1600 to 1800, one that shows how both artistic practice and the idea of Europe itself were shaped by cross-cultural contact in far-flung regions of the world. In this respect, it offers a valuable alternative or supplement to existing textbook accounts, most of which remain narrowly Eurocentric in their approach. It should therefore appeal to undergraduate students as well as to a general readership interested in looking at art from new perspectives.