156 



agitations of nature are represented ; and 

 I am here tempted to parody that fre- 

 quently quoted passage of Shakspeare, 

 44 in the very torrent, tempest, and whirl- 

 wind of the elements, the artist, in paint- 

 ing them, must acquire a breadth that will 

 give them smoothness." 



There is, however, no small difficulty in 

 uniting breadth, with the detail, the splen- 

 did variety, and marked character of na- 

 ture. Claude is admirable in this, as in 

 almost every other respect : with the great- 

 est accuracy of detail, and truth of cha- 

 racter, his pictures have the breadth of the 

 simplest washed drawing, or aquatinta 

 print, where little else is expressed, or in- 

 tended. In a strong light, they are full of 

 interesting and entertaining particulars; 

 and as twilight comes on, I have often 

 observed in them the same gradual fading 

 of the glimmering landscape, as in real 

 nature. 



This art of preserving breadth with detail 

 and brilliancy, has been studied with great 

 success by Teniers, Jan Steen, and many 



