Sebastien Allard

This is an admirable example of a straightforward and attractively-presented exhibition catalogue. While I find with many catalogues that I have to have my 'academic' head on in order to follow the arguments and theory, the essays in this volume were written simply and were very readable. The paintings in the exhibition are presented in various categories (e.g. the status portrait, the cultural portrait), preceded by short 'bite-size' essays that provide an insight into the context, and also illustrate their point with comparative works which are not in the exhibition.

Recently, exhibition catalogues have moved away from presenting the works one by one, and describing each individually. Instead, paintings tend to be inserted as colour plates in the midst of essays, which frustrates me a little, because I like to know about the history and background of the particular picture that I have seen. On the other hand, it's also valuable to know the context, and any links that can be drawn between different pieces. "Citizens and Kings" admirably combines the two approaches, with short essays in the main body of the catalogue, and individual entries for each painting at the back in an appendix. It's therefore ideal for both the casual reader, and for someone who wants to focus more on a particular painting.

Finally, the quality of the reproductions is superb, and this is an excellent reference work for the period. There are a few minor errors - for example, I think that The Braddyll Family, by Reynolds, has been printed back-to-front - and Castiglione's "Cortegiano" is translated as "The Courtesan" rather than "The Courtier". But these are incredibly minor things, and overall the catalogue is a beautiful book, and a comprehensive, authoritative introduction to the portraiture of this period.… (meer)