19 MARCH 1898, Page 26

, The Renaissance in Italian Art. By Selwyn Brinton. (Simpkin,

Marshall, and Co.)—This little book, which is the first part of a series, aims at giving a sketch of the early art of Florence, Pisa, and Siena. The author approaches his subject more as a study of evolution than anything else. For instance, when the battle piece by Paolo ITccello in the National Gallery is described, we are told about the efforts at perspective, which was then begin- ning to be studied scientifically, but nothing about the splendid decorative effect and beauty of the picture. There is an immense amount of information in this little book, and the author has given in an appendix some of the latest theories of art criticism.