Episode 8: Painting a Nation

Miranda and Paul are joined by art critic and author Laura Cumming, whose acclaimed book 'Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death' explores painting in the 17th-century Dutch Republic. It was a true Golden Age, an era of great artists whose prodigious output of paintings is unrivalled anywhere in European history.

Laura's book focuses on the work of Carel Fabritius, whose extraordinary career was cut short when he died in the Delft Thunderclap, a huge explosion of stored gunpowder that devastated the small Dutch town. But her book is also a meditation on artists' relationship with time, and a memoir of Laura's father, himself a noted painter.

'1666 and All That' is presented by Paul Lay and Miranda Malins. The producer is Hugh Costello. Original music is by George Taylor. The episode is mixed by Sam Gunn.