One author described Titian as the 'Sun amidst small stars not only among the Italians but all the painters of the world'. Titian was supreme in every branch of painting and his achievements were so varied that he has been an inspiration to artists of very different character. Poussin, Rubens, and Velazquez are among the painters who have particularly revered him. In many subjects, above all in portraiture, he set patterns that were followed by generations of artists. His free and expressive brushwork revolutionized the oil technique: Vasari wrote that his late works "are executed with bold, sweeping strokes, and in patches of color, with the result that they cannot be viewed from near by, but appear perfect at a distance..."