Davanti al naturale: Contributi sul movimento caravaggesco a Napoli. Francesca de Luca and Gianni Papi, eds. Milan: Officina Libraria, 2017. 144 pp. €19.90.
gift for detailed, vivid descriptions that could almost substitute for the glorious illustrations of the Waddesdon objects, even though the illustrations are essential to the success of the publication. Enhancing her descriptions are exacting comparisons with analogous objects in other collections. The notes to the introduction and catalogue entries offer essential primary and secondary documentation and, although the provenance information is supplied in the narrative, rather than telegraphically as in most catalogues, it is certainly adequately presented. Unarguably, this book makes a significant contribution to the study of the history of collecting and of oft-neglected categories of art, and will be of value to scholars and connoisseurs for years to come.