The Knackfuss series of Monographs on Artists, and this one in particular about Rubens, answers superbly the requirements of the student who, having visited and studied the originals of the great masters scattered through the various galleries of the world, desires to keep in his library such a reminder of the characteristics of their technique and of their work in general as will form a working basis for further comparative study, or merely for future reference and recollection. Germany, so well able to cope with the scholarly necessities of such a series, has as usual successfully conceived and materialized it. This library has been translated into English, and we now receive from Messrs. Lemcke and Buechner, New York, a volume on "Rubens," for the translation of which into English Louise M. Richter is responsible. The format of the book is good for the purpose, being sufficiently large to permit of the insertion of pictures without confusion of the detail, and yet not so bulky as to be inconvenient to handle. The illustrations are numerous; in the present volume there are 122. They comprise reproductions both of pictures and of drawings. Printed along with the text, they are not of high quality in themselves, but are entirely sufficient for the purpose of the series, as indicated above. The text itself comprises the life of the painter, a full consideration of his various styles of work, his workmanship, his influence, etc. An index to the galleries in which the chief works are now contained will be a valuable guide to the traveler, who could well use the series not only as a reference after his return but as a vade mecum during his travels.
—The International Studio, Volume 23 [1904]
