I would like to thank my careful and extremely generous editors Cecily Gayford and Kirty Topiwala; Taylor McCall, Jocelyn Anderson and Jessica Barker for casting their expert eyes over some or all of this manuscript; the production and design staff at Profile Books and Well-come Publishing; Sophie Scard, Lisa Toogood and Caroline Dawnay at United Agents; Rania Jaber, Roland Betancourt and Maggie Breidenthal for their advice on translation; my many inspiring colleagues and students at The Courtauld Institute, Columbia University and the University of East Anglia; and lastly my family and friends, especially Anne Chmelewsky for her constant love and support, without which this book would never have been written.