« This volume shows the extraordinary impact of French art in a dazzling array of techniques. It is Romantic and Classical ; it harks back to Raphael and Zurbarán... it can deal with history and genre, tackle large formats or be minutely precise ; it can run off to increasingly remote lands or hide away in a Paris studio ; it is at home in its own time, and yet can seek refuge in some imaginary cosmos. »

Henri Loyrette, President-Director, Louvre, Paris