Note 18 — PART VI. (continued 2)
Charles Lock Eastlake translation
In a passage that follows respecting the mode of extracting nut-oil, Caneparius appears to mistranslate Galen, c. 7—"De Simplicium Medicamentorum facultatibus." The observations of Galen on this subject, and on the drying property of linseed, may have given the first hint to the inventors of oil-painting. The custom of dating the origin of this art from Van Eyck is like that of dating the commencement of modern painting from Cimabue. The improver is often assumed to be the inventor.