Michael Kitson (1926-98) taught European art history at the Courtauld Institute for thirty years. He had a special interest in landscape, and in the relationship between 17th-century artists and their later followers in Britain. His most substantial scholarly contributions are confined chiefly to the subjects of this book, Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin - especially to Claude. It is fair to say that he transformed the study of Claude Lorrain's work. His approach was informed by his earlier studies of English literature, both in its insistence on close scrutiny of the work of art, and in its emphasis on the aesthetic or 'poetic' qualities of Claude's work.

The present volume contains twenty essays and reviews, chiefly concerning Claude Lorrain, but also including one on Gaspard Dughet, two on Nicolas Poussin (including the latest piece, an authoritative review of the 1994 Poussin"exhibition), and a comparison of Claude and Poussin in landscape. The writings range considerably in scale and scope, from closely focussed analyses of one or two paintings, or a group of drawings, to reviews of exhibitions and"catalogues raisonnés, and the introduction to the 1969 Hayward Gallery exhibition, which introduced a wider public to an"appreciation of Claude and ideal landscape. There is an introduction by Dr. Claire Pace covering the work of Professor Kitson, and a comprehensive index.