Guide iconographique de la peinture

We wait impatiently for the monumental book, the Iconographie de l’art chrétien by Louis Réau and its five volumes to be printed again. It traces all Saints, from the most famous to the least known (among them saint Cyr and Saint Julitte…). In the meantime those of us who are completely disconnected from the repertoire of motifs used in painting during a century and who are incapable of making the difference between the Annunciation and the Visitation should start leafing through this Vademecum. It is not entirely religious as there is also mention of the death of Catton or the murder of Cesar. But they will find the main episodes of the holy history, illustrated by Western masters, from Giotto up to Rouault and Chagall. We do regret certain major omissions – such as Toby and the Angel, Saint Peter the Martyr with his skull cut, Saint Lucie with her eyes on a platter), and we would have liked to have a richer iconography. What can Josue blocking the sun look like?

• Guide iconographique de la peinture, by Nanon Gardin and Guy Pascual, Larousse, 2012, 240 p., 27 €.