Esther Singleton (1865–1930)

There are so many backhanded compliments. These critics are brutal and snarky. For example, “the original work was bought by the noted amateur, M. De Calonne … was finally acquired by the first Marquis of Westminster.” And “the extraordinary popularity of Greuze is based, not upon the excellence of his painting, but upon his pretty faces.” I must admit, the title was both intriguing and misleading. I had envisioned great novelists, amateurs in art, describing the works. Something like Hemingway critiquing Chagall – “damn idiot can’t draw a straight line” or some such. Sadly, this was not the case as it is art described by art critics. It’s pretty dry material. Is an interesting source of scholarly art critiques, though. The writing style of the era, 1905, was very stilted and flowery. I really had to concentrate while reading it. It is informative and reminded me of my art textbooks. –Reviewed by Lzc… (meer)