17th century  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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Frontispiece for the 1638 edition of The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

Iconologia (1593) by Cesare Ripa was an emblem book highly influential on Baroque imagery

Anthropomorphic Landscape (early 17th century) by Joos de Momper

Method of loci
Illustration: Theatrum Orbi engraving by Johann Theodor de Bry

By virtue of his magnum opus, the posthumous Ethics, Spinoza is considered one of Western philosophy's definitive ethicists.

Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica by Robert Fludd

Illustration to the Speculum Sophicum Rhodostauroticum (1618) by Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens

Related e

Wikipedia Wiktionary Shop Featured: Rhombicuboctahedron by Leonardo da Vinci

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700.

The 17th century falls into the Early Modern period of Europe and was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement and the beginning of modern science and philosophy, including the contributions of Galileo Galilei, René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Isaac Newton; Europe was torn by warfare throughout the century by the Thirty Years' War, while European colonization of the Americas began in earnest.

The year 1600 is hailed by many as the beginning of the era of modern freethought, as it is marked by the execution in Italy of Giordano Bruno by the Holy Inquisition.

Significant people

Visual artists

17th century art

• Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish painter (1577 – 1640)
• Frans Hals (1580–1666)
• Nicolas Poussin, French painter (1594 - 1665)
• José de Ribera, Lo Spagnoletto (1591 – 1652)
• Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian sculptor, architect (1598 – 1680)
• Francisco Zurbarán, Spanish Painter (1598 – 1664)
• Francesco Borromini, Italian sculptor, architect (1599–1667)
• Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish painter (1599–1660)
• Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch painter (1606 – 1669)
• Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter (1617 – 1682)
• Jan Steen (1626–1679)
• Johannes Vermeer, Dutch Painter (1632 – 1675)

Literature

17th century in literature

• Félix Lope de Vega, Spanish playwright and poet (1562 – 1635)
• William Shakespeare, English author and poet (1564 – 1616)
• Ben Jonson, English dramatist c.1572 – 1637)
• John Donne, English metaphysical poet (1572 – 1631)
• Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Spanish author (1574 – 1616)
• Robert Burton, English writer (1577 – 1640) (The Anatomy of Melancholy)
• Francisco de Quevedo, Spanish writer (1580 – 1645)
• Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish dramatist (1600 – 1681)
• Pierre Corneille, French dramatist (1606 – 1684)
• John Milton, English author and poet (1608 – 1674)
• Andreas Gryphius, German poet and dramatist (1616 – 1664)
• Jean de La Fontaine, French poet (1621 – 1695)
• Molière, French dramatist, actor, director (1622 – 1673)
• John Dryden, English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright (1631 – 1700)
• Samuel Pepys, English civil servant and diarist (1633 – 1703)
• Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, French poet and critic (1636 – 1711)
• Jean Racine, French dramatist (1639 – 1699)
• John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet (1647 – 1680)
• Daniel Defoe, English writer, novelist (1659 or 1661 – 1731)

Musicians and composers

17th century music

• Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer of genius (1685–1750)
• Georg Friedrich Handel, German Composer (1685–1759)
• Jean-Baptiste Lully, Italian-born French composer (1632 – 1687)
• Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer of Renaissance and Baroque music, and possibly the first opera ever (1567 – 1643)
• Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), German composer
• Henry Purcell, English composer (1659 – 1695)
• Antonio Vivaldi Italian composer (four seasons concerti) (1678–1741)

Philosophy

17th century philosophy

• Francis Bacon (1561–1626)
• Thomas Browne (1605–82)
• Mir Damad (d. 1631)
• Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
• Mulla Sadra (1571–1640)
• René Descartes (1596–1650)
• Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
• Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677)
• Francisco Suárez (1548–1617)
• John Locke (1632–1704)
• Nicolas Malebranche (1638–1715)
• Isaac Newton (1642–1727)
• Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716)
• Pierre Bayle (1647–1706)
• Damaris Cudworth Masham (1659–1708)
• Mary Astell (1666–1731)
• Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)
• John Milton (1608–1674)

See also

17th century art, 17th century in literature, Baroque

• 17th century science and philosophy
• 17th century politics
• Venus in the 17th century