s, and all published in the last half
century; there must be many more to come, for every generation sees
genius in the light of its own time.

So much for literature. In art the painter has influenced very many
moderns. Manet, Courbet, Corot, Millet, Whistler, are among the men
whose work shines in the light of the Prado, and the list might be
prolonged indefinitely, for all earnest art workers go to Velazquez,
confident that whatever their aims and ideals, he will confirm and
strengthen what is best in them. They know, too, that they may return
again and again, and that the rich stores of guidance and encouragement
in the pursuit of ideals are as inexhaustible as the barrel of meal
that did not waste, and the cruse of oil that did not fail, in the
house of the widow of Zarephath.

II

THE PAINTER'S EARLY DAYS

In the years when Velazquez first saw the light, the power of Spain,
despite the shock it had received from British seamen, was the
dominating factor in European politics. Philip II. had come to the end
of a reign of more than forty years; Philip III. had just reached the
throne. The painter was not born in the atmosphere of court life, but
in the very Catholic city of Seville, then as now a fatal place for
those who cannot withstand the manifold temptations to lead a lazy
life. Happily for the boy his parents had not inherited the Seville
traditions; his father came from Oporto, which, being a seaport town,
has no lack of mental and physical activity. The spirit of painting
settled at a very early age upon young Diego de Silva Velazquez--the
second name by which he is universally known belonged to his mother's
family--almost before he was in his teens he was working in the studio
of Francisco de Herrera, architect and painter. The temperaments of
master and pupil could not fuse; there was sufficient trouble to lead
Don Juan Rodriguez to transfer his son's services to Francesco Pacheco,
painter, poet, professor, and withal a man of action and experience.
He knew much about contemporary art, encouraged a hopeful outlook upon
life, and enjoyed the respect of all men. Moreover his studio was the
meeting-place for many of the distinguished folk of the city. In the
very early years of their association Pacheco understood that his young
pupil was not like other lads, that he possessed an individuality that
could not be repressed or directed into the usual channels, and instead
of resenting this ne