L'Antiquité expliquée served as a fundamental source work of classical antiquity and other motifs for painters, sculptors and architects throughout the Eighteenth Century. The architect, Robert Adam, derived many features of his decorative reportoire from it, in particular what he believed to be 'Etruscan' motifs. Supplementary volumes were issued in 1724. The work occupied Montfaucon for many years, having received contributions and assistance from many of the greatest European collectors of the time, many of which are mentioned or credited adjacent to the illustrations