The book represents a kind of art history that I admire. It is rooted in first- hand, direct study of the work of art, over a long period of time. The author’s Roman upbringing and education may have first given her familiarity with the art of this period, but her illumination of these paintings also arises from a sensitivity to visual effects and a patience with the work of looking. No less important, the book benefits from its interrogation of archival documents, which are approached with sensitivity and carefully interpreted. The two ends of the spectrum of art historical scholarship are brought together: on the one hand, collection of historical information with respect for its incompleteness, its partiality and its lacunae, and on the other hand an interpretation of the work of art itself as a complex and sometimes mysterious product of human creativity.