(Nothing positive can be said about the influence of France on
Italian art; the monumental character and the art of Cimabue, Giotto and
the Sienese does not, however, suggest that they were much influenced by
the art of miniature painting, but rather hints that they drew
inspiration from antique frescoes.)
I must add a few words on the subject of those miniatures which are not
easily accessible to the layman, but reproductions of which are
frequently met with in books on the history of art. In addition to
religious subjects, the whole courtly company which lives and breathes
in the legends of the Round Table, kings and knights, poets, minstrels,
and fair damsels, hawking, jousting, banqueting and playing chess,
everything which stirred the poet's imagination, is depicted. The spirit
of the romances which in modern times enchanted the English
Pre-Raphaelites, six centuries ago provided food and stimulus to the
industrious illuminators whose names have long been forgotten.
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