Diderot is one of the deepest and most versatile representatives of the French Enlightenment of the 18th century, philosopher, playwright, poet, novel author, art theorist and art critic. In the Salons, Diderot's thoughts are expressed in an immediate, free form. Along with descriptions, he uses a variety of literary genres: letters, treatises, speeches, conversations, dialogues. Diderot was well aware of the important place these reviews of exhibitions occupy in his work. "It's the best I've done since I've been in literature," he writes to Sophie Vollan (10 January 1765) about the Salon of 1765. His thoughts, reasoning, assessments evoke a lively response from the modern reader, as they relate to many problems that still retain their significance for art and its theory.