"
However, when the great Russian artist took possession of his studio
his American brother of the pencil made his apology, and received this
response; "Don't waste words on so trivial a matter. Do I not court
the contempt of a world that I despise to my heart's core? Say no more
about it. Run in and see me when agreeable; and if you have no better
callers than such a plaything of fate as I, maybe you will not refuse
me occasional admittance."
The Russian artist now shunned notoriety as he had formerly courted
it. Little is known of his history beyond mere rumor, and that only in
artistic circles. He was born at St. Petersburg in 1799 or 1800, and
gave himself to the study of art at an early age, becoming an especial
proficient in color and composition. One of his most widely-known
works is "The Last Days of Pompeii," which created great enthusiasm a
quarter of a century ago. This, however, was painted during his career
of dissipation, and its vivid coloring seemed to have been drawn from
a soul morbid with secret woes and craving a nepenthe which never
came.
The young artist was petted and idolized by the wealth and nobility
of St. Petersburg, where he married a beautiful woman, and became
court-painter to the czar Nicholas about the year 1830. For some years
no couple lived more happily, and no artist swayed a greater multitude
of fashion and wealth than he; but scandal began to whisper that
the czar was as fond of the handsome, brilliant wife of the young
court-painter as the cultivated people of St.
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