Treasures of Spain from. Charles V to Goya

The publisher of this series, Albert Skira of Lausanne, purchases commissioned texts from the authors, who are allowed to take part in determining the lists of illustrations. The editions are very large, being distributed through a number of subsidiary and associated publishing connections. The style of writing in the series is impersonal, and the publisher’s idea is that “each work is like a wagon, and they get attached to each other in a train” (New York Times, March 27, 1966). The author of the present study, A. Cirici-Pellicer, is best known for his studies on Catalán art of the modern age and on Spanish painters such as Miró and Picasso. The scope of his book is very broad, including architecture, sculpture, painting, and decoration, which he treats swiftly and in conventional terms. His point of view is highly traditional, overlooking recent scholarship and disregarding controversial questions. For example, he retains a nineteenth-century view of Velázquez as a forerunner of the Impressionists, an opinion common among writers prior to 1945. An index lists places, artists, and a few concepts, but there is no bibliography of any kind. The Introduction by F. J. Sánchez Cantón is a condensation of his earlier compilation of literary sources for Spanish art. The work as a whole is suitable for use by beginners, and the illustrations are of a quality to recommend the book to specialists.