William Tyler
Art & Literature and Access to It in the 18th Century

The Enlightenment witnessed the beginning of a cultural shift in society towards the growing middle class. In literature, this took the form of novels, such as Robinson Crusoe, and greater access through an increase in bookshops and circulating libraries. In art, the access took many forms, from theatre to paintings to public art exhibitions. However these Enlightenment changes did not, in general, reach those at the base of society, but they did point the way towards today’s mass culture.