Great Pictures, As Seen and Described by Famous Writers

Esther Singleton brings together accounts of paintings that made a strong impression on writers visiting galleries and museums. Edited and translated by her, the collection pairs individual pictures with essays by figures including Théophile Gautier, Walter Pater, John Ruskin and Eugène Fromentin. Its range includes Botticelli, Raphael, Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci, with Turner and Rossetti representing more recent painting in the editor’s selection.

The essays move between close observation of a canvas and discussion of the artist behind it. In the account of Van Eyck’s The Adoration of the Lamb, attention falls on singing angels, rich fabrics, facial expressions and the arrangement of the landscape. Readers interested in art criticism can compare how different writers describe colour, composition and religious symbolism, while seeing which details drew their attention. The preface also explains Singleton’s choices and her approach to shortening the selections.