Art and Architecture in France, 1500 to 1700

This book is designed to cover French art during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The main emphasis has been laid on the major arts, and certain subjects, particularly the applied arts, have of necessity been dealt with in a rather summary manner, or only where they are directly relevant to developments in other fields. But even within the major arts themselves the space allotted to different parts has varied according to the particular problems presented. So, for instance, the sixteenth century has been discussed in greater detail than, say, the art of Versailles, because, whereas in the case of the latter the main outlines are already well known, the earlier period still presents so many difficulties and obscurities that a summary would be impossible, and the evidence has to be set out in detail. In particular, the origins of French art in Italy and elsewhere have usually been studied in such general terms that it seemed essential to establish more precise points of contact and to define the exact sources on which French painters, sculptors, and architects drew when they visited Italy and other countries. Only in this way can the development of French art be seen as part of the general European tradition, and its peculiar qualities isolated.