CHATS ON OLD MINIATURES.
Chats on Old Miniatures. By J. J. Foster. (T. Fisher Unwin. 53. net.)—This book announces itself on its cover as "A Practical Guide to the Collector." Happily it has also a wider function, and appeals to a larger public, for tho collector must not only be a millionaire—and oven in these days of big fortunes this is not easy—but ho must have a certain knowledge of art. In the province of the miniature there is a huge total of imposture, for, indeed, a miniature lends itself to this kind of fraud. Defects that would be manifest in a big canvas may escape notice in a painting not bigger than the palm of the hand. Did not Gulliver think all the Lilliputians beautiful ? But apart from possible collectors, there are many readers who will find great enjoyment in this volume. The matter is interesting, and it is copiously illustrated. Mr. Foster's method is mainly historical, though he treats separately of different materials, and of some great collections. Practically the period to be dealt with is but small. There are miniatures in missals, &o., evidently portraits, so strongly marked is the individual character in them. An example is given from a fifteenth-century missal. No one can doubt for a moment that the "Philosopher" on p. 47 is taken from life. This is a piece of Italian work. But the subject proper, as the miniature is commonly understood, begins with the sixteenth century. Mr. Foster describes the various schools, with some of their most eminent artists, always illustrating his text with a well-chosen selection of portraits. But no notice can give any idea of the charm of the volume. It is not one of the booki from which we can pick out the best plums.
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