Introduction

This book is not a history of Greek art. There are many in print already, both in French and in other languages, and, even if fitted to undertake it, I could hardly treat a subject of such importance—for many reasons one of the most difficult there is—in a few hundred pages. It would barely be possible to give a dry summary gleaned from my predecessors, savants to whose labours I have gone for guidance, and I should not have been able to take into account those numberless detailed monographs which, keeping pace with new discoveries, ofttimes complete and revise the conclusions already arrived at. I shall refer with all the less scruple to those general histories of art ¹ which each have their own merit and of which France has so generous a share, thanks to Collignon ² and Perrot. ³ Thus it will be easy for the reader to check what I say and himself to add abundant examples to those which I select.