In 1875 Eugène Fromentin toured Flanders and Holland to study Dutch painting. He visited churches, museums, and private collections, and jotted down his personal impressions on the spot. The result was The masters of past time--a delightful, sensitive book. In his own foreword Fromentin speaks modestly of his aim: "I shall merely describe, in the presence of certain pictures, the effects of surprise, pleasure, astonishment, and no less exactly of...