Art and "Nature"

• People’s view of the nature of this world, and of their relationship to it, was undergoing fundamental change.
  
• Political theories saw people as free agents in the world, with a nature that, if not fundamentally good, was at least not fundamentally bad.
  
• The concept of "natural" became an important component in artistic thought.
  

The Social Role of Music

• Improved economic conditions—fostered by better production methods—yielded more goods and greater wealth.
  
• "The pursuit of happiness" was available to a broader class of society.
  
• Music began to be seen as "an innocent luxury."
  
• European composers reacted to increased demand for music.
  

The Concept of Nature in the Arts

• The "unnatural" and "artificial" gestures of Baroque painting and sculpture were replaced with "natural" ideals of simplicity and balance.
  
• Allegorical subjects in art and literature were cast aside in favor of "real" people and situations, and the genre of the novel was born.
  
• In music, simplicity, balance and an interest in real emotions were critical for the composer.