Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 4, 1912.djvu/11

 DIRECTIONS TO THE READER 1. The pictures are arranged according to their subjects in the follow- ing groups : Sacred History, Mythology, Profane History, Allegory, Genre, Portraiture, Landscape, Still-Life, and Undescribed Pictures. 2. Within each group the pictures known to exist are described as far as possible in the alphabetical order of the names of the towns where they are preserved. 1 Then follow the pictures known only from descriptions in books, in the chronological order of the notices referring to them. 3. The numbering is continuous. Pictures, the descriptions of which are lacking in precision, are given numbers with letters appended ; this signifies that any such picture is probably recorded under a separate number with a full description. In exceptional cases, however, newly discovered pictures have had to be inserted in their proper places in the list, and assigned numbers with letters. 2 4. The titles of the pictures known to the compiler by personal inspection, and of a few known to him from trustworthy reports or good photographs, are printed in capitals. 5. In the measurement of pictures the height precedes the breadth. The terms " right " and " left " are used from the spectator's point of view. 6. In the descriptions of pictures not known to the compiler, the critical remarks are copied from the book or sale-catalogue quoted as an authority for the existence of the picture. 7. In the case of sales extending over several days, the date of the first day is given, even if the picture in question was sold on a later day. 1 In cases where a picture has changed hands while the book was passing through the press, it has not always been possible to adhere to this rule. 2 In several cases, while the book has been passing through the press, two pictures separately described have been found to be identical. In such cases, where time permitted, the two entries have been amalgamated and one of the numbers left blank. Translator's Note. IX