Over a certain fountain in Rome, there was a cornice so skilfully
painted, that the birds were deceived, and trying to alight on it,
frequently fell into the water beneath. Annibale Caracci painted some
ornaments on a ceiling of the Farnese palace, which the Duke of Sessa,
Spanish ambassador to the Pope, took for sculptures, and would not
believe they were painted on a flat ground, until he had touched them
with a lance. Agostino Caracci painted a horse, which deceived the
living animal--a triumph so celebrated in Apelles. Juan Sanchez Cotan,
painted at Granada a "Crucifixion," on the cross of which Palomino says
birds often attempted to perch, and which at first sight the keen-eyed
Cean Bermudez mistook for a piece of sculpture. The reputation of this
painter stood so high, that Vincenzio Carducci traveled from Madrid to
Granada on purpose to see him; and he is said to have recognized him
among the white-robed fraternity of which he was a member, by observing
in the expression of his countenance, a certain affinity to the spirit
of his works.
It is related of Murillo's picture of St. Anthony of Padua, that the
birds, wandering up and down the aisles of the cathedral at Seville,
have often attempted to perch upon a vase of white lilies painted on a
table in the picture, and to peck at the flowers. The preëminent modern
Zeuxis, however, was Pierre Mignard, whose portrait of the Marquise de
Gouvernet was accosted by that lady's pet parrot, with an affectionate
"_Baise moi, ma maitresse!_"