In the Observer art critic’s new book, the tale of a Victorian bookseller who discovers a long-lost portrait by Velázquez becomes a detective story, a study of obsession and a passionate homage to the Spanish artist
• Laura Cumming: how Velázquez gave me consolation – and set me on the trail of a mystery
There is something intensely romantic in the fact that while walking up Broadway in the midst of a busy noonday crowd – made up of Bulls and Bears, rattling omnibuses, express wagons, Fifth-avenue carriages, railroad ticket offices, big hotels, big coaches hurrying passengers to steam on water or land – in a few moments, and by passing through a rather slim and dusty hall, you may shut yourself out from the present. In this silent place… may be seen a magnificent painting, a portrait of Charles I painted by the great Velázquez. This is truly superb.
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