Saw again to-day the Spanish school in the Museum,--Velasquez, a
surprising fellow! The "Hermits in a Rocky Desert" pleased me much; also
a "Dark Wood at Nightfall." He is Teniers on a large scale: his handling
is of the most sparkling kind, owing much of its dazzling effect to the
flatness of the ground it is placed upon.
The picture of "Children in Grotesque Dresses," in his painting-room, is
a surprising piece of handling. Still he would gain, and indeed does
gain, when he glazes his pictures. He makes no use of his ground; lights
and shadows are opaque. Chilliness and blackness are sometimes the
result; and often a cold blue or green prevails, requiring all his
brilliancy of touch and truth of effect to make tolerable. Velasquez,
however, may be said to be the origin of what is now doing in England.
His feeling they have caught almost without seeing his works; which
here seem to anticipate Reynolds, Romney, Raeburn, Jackson, and even Sir
Thomas Lawrence. Perhaps there is this difference: he does at once what
we do by repeated and repeated touches.
It may truly be said, that wheresoever Velasquez is admired, the
paintings of England must be acknowledged and admired with him.
_Wilkie._