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11. 
12   
Impasting.

It is common in speaking of the works of Painters, to commend them for being well impasted — that is, painted with a full body of Colour.  In making a Study from nature, this cannot often be done, and need not be, where the effect can be produced with little paint and slight and spirited pencilling, or rough masses, as it may happen in the short compass of a sitting.  But when this Study is transferred to the well-prepared Canvass, and carefully to be wrought into a solid and substantial Picture, it may then be imparted to the heart's content of the Painter, and the critical Connoisseur; who, however, might dispise it if he knew how it had been produced, owing anything to the merit of copying from an Original Study. ~ Although this was a process absolutely necessary to the greatest [[strikethrough]] Painters [[/strikethrough]] of the old Masters who painted in fresco, it is a privilege which some critics deny to the Painter in oil, notwithstanding its obvious advantages; whilst, in other Cases they commend that transparency of the tints which can only be the result of thin glazings of Colour.  From a careful examination of the celebrated pictures of the old Masters, it is evident that where the paint is loaded or heaped up, it has been produced by repeated efforts to improve the colour or the form; and shows how much pains they took to finish their works.

The praise so often bestowed upon the well impasted works of some of the Ancient Painters, arises chiefly from this, that such full coated Paintings have resisted the rude efforts of ignorant cleaners, thus preserving more material for the amusement or judgment of Critics who have lived 300 years after, to pronounce upon the solid  impasto though they may perceive no evidence left of the beautiful and finishing glazings, [[strikethrough]]  who [[/strikethrough]] for which that impasto was prepared — and which have been probably rubbed away; for in favour of a good impasto it must be observed that no glazings are good unless made upon such a solid ground.  

The value of an impasto must depend much upon the previous ground or preparation of the Canvass or Board; for if this had been well and solidly impasted of the proper colour, very little more  paint from the hands