ld
the damask for a good price, and having made a paper suit, painted it so
perfectly to represent the damask that when he appeared in it all were
deceived.

When the marquis called the emperor's attention to the beautiful
clothing of his court, and asked which suit he most admired, the emperor
at once selected that of Mabuse. The joke was then explained to the
emperor, but he would not believe that the suit was not of real damask
until he had touched it with his hands.

It no doubt took Mabuse considerable time to paint his damask, but a
much more celebrated artist once made a wonderful drawing almost in an
instant. At the time of the Caesars there was at Rome a panel on which
was to be seen nothing but three colored lines. The lines were drawn one
on top of the other, each thinner line dividing the next wider. This was
considered one of the most wonderful art works at Rome.

The Grecian painter Apelles went one day into Protogenes's studio, and
finding that artist out, drew on a panel the widest of the three lines
in such a peculiar and beautiful manner that Protogenes knew at once his
caller. When Apelles called the second time he found that Protogenes had
drawn a colored line upon the first line, dividing it with the most
delicate accuracy. Seeing this, Apelles divided the second line, to
every one's astonishment. Protogenes lived at Rhodes, and the panel was
taken to Rome to be admired by all who saw it. When the imperial palace
was destroyed, the panel unfortunately shared a like fate.

In comparison, what a delicate flower is to a huge log, so the work of
Apelles would be to such a vast oil-painting as the "Apotheosis of
Hercules," painted by Lemoin, a Frenchman. This picture measured
sixty-four feet one way by fifty-four feet the other, and the
ultramarine to paint the clouds on it alone cost two thousand dollars.

Another huge painting, said to be the largest in the world, is
Tintoretto's "Paradise," at Venice. It contains an almost innumerable
multitude of figures, and fills the end of a large hall, over three
hundred feet long and half as wide.

One of the most minute and beautiful of art works now at Florence is a
glory of sixty saints carved on a cherry stone. It was carved by the
Italian sculptress Rossi, who executed other similar carvings, besides
working in marble.

Some of the old artists had peculiar methods of working. Aspertino
taught himself to paint with both hands at the same time; and Go