Till the last half of the last century his name had been almost forgotten outside Spain.

Now, among the modern 'impressionists' so-called, he is perhaps more studied than any other painter.

When we were looking at the pictures of this great man, we saw how he and Rembrandt were among the earliest to learn the value of subordinating detail in the parts to the better general effect of the whole, so as to present no more than the eye could grasp in a comprehensive glance.

Every tree and stick in Brett's 'Val d'Aosta' is truthfully painted, but the picture as a whole does not give the spectator the impression of truth, for the simple reason that the eye can never see at once what Brett has tried to make it see.

All the wonderfully veracious detail in the work of the Pre-Raphaelite does not give the impression of life.