22 MARCH 1902, Page 24

Stories of the Tuscan Artists. By Albinia Wherry. (J. M.

Dent and Co. 10s. 6d.)—These are pleasantly written essays narrating incidents in the lives of Florentine artiste and stories about their works. The book aims at interesting young people, and therefore the aneciotic side of the subject is brought into prominence. The later and greatest painters are not dealt with, which perhaps is as well, as the writer evidently understands the early painters better than the later ones, to judge by a casual remark about the "soulless perfection" of the later work of both Raphael and Andrea del Sarto . We should recommend a study of Browning's poem on the subject.