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which he wrought; his colours seem, as it 

 were, dabbed on the canvass; and one 

 might suppose them to have been worked 

 upon it with some coarser instrument than 

 a painter's brush. Many painters indeed 

 when they represent any striking effect of 

 light, leave the touches of the pencil more 

 rough and strongly markedj than the qua^ 

 lity of the objects themselves seems to 

 justify; but Rembrandt, who succeeded 

 beyond all others in these forcible effects, 

 carried also this method of creating them 

 further than any other master. Those who 

 have seen his famous picture in the Stadt? 

 house at Amsterdam, may remember a 

 figure highly illuminated, whose dress is a 

 silver tissue, with fringes, tassels, and other 

 ornaments, nearly of the same brilliant co- 

 lour: it is the most surprising instance I 

 ever saw of the effect of that rough man- 

 ner of pencilling, in producing what most 

 nearly approaches to the glitter and to the 

 irritation which is caused by real light, when 

 acting powerfully on any object; and tins 

 too with a due attention to general har- 



