I have written all these essays as a member of the public, as one who
has to find a right attitude towards art so that the arts may flourish
again. The critic is sure to be a charlatan or a prig, unless he is to
himself not a pseudo-artist expounding the mysteries of art and telling
artists how to practise them, but simply one of the public with a
natural and human interest in art. But one of these essays is a defence
of criticism, and I will not repeat it here.

A. CLUTTON-BROCK
_July_ 30, 1919
FARNCOMBE, SURREY




CONTENTS


"THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI" 1

LEONARDO DA VINCI 13

THE POMPADOUR IN ART 27

AN UNPOPULAR MASTER 37

A DEFENCE OF CRITICISM 48

THE ARTIST AND HIS AUDIENCE 58