ANECDOTE OF SCHWARTS.

Sandrart relates the following anecdote of Christopher Schwarts, a famous German painter, which, if true, redounds more to his ingenuity than to his credit.  Having been engaged to paint the ceiling of the Town Hall at Munich by the day, his love of dissipation induced him to neglect his work, so that the magistrates and overseers of the work were frequently obliged to hunt him out at the cabaret.  As he could no longer drink in quiet, he stuffed an image of himself, left the legs hanging down between the staging where he was accustomed to work, and sent one of his boon companions to move the image a little two or three times a day, and to take it away at noon and night.  By means of this deception, he drank without the least disturbance a whole fortnight together, the inn-keeper being privy to the plot.  The officers came in twice a day to look after him, and seeing the well known stockings and shoes which he was accustomed to wear, suspected nothing wrong, and went their way, greatly extolling their own convert, as the most industrious and conscientious painter in the world.

JACQUES CALLOT.

This eminent French engraver was born at Nancy, in Lorraine, in 1593.  He was the son of Jean Callot, a gentleman of noble family, who intended him for a very different profession, and endeavored to restrain his natural passion for art; but when he was twelve years old, he left his home without money or resources, joined a company of wandering Bohemians, and found his way to Florence, where some officer of the court, discovering his inclination for drawing, placed him under Cantagallina.  After passing some time at Florence, he went to Rome, where he was recognized by some friends of his family, who persuaded him to return to his parents.  Meeting with continual opposition, he again absconded, but was followed by his brother to Turin, and taken back to Nancy.  His parents, at length finding his love of art too firmly implanted to be eradicated, concluded to allow him to follow the bent of his genius, and they sent him to Rome in the suite of the Envoy from the Duke of Lorraine to the Pope.  Here he studied with the greatest assiduity, and soon distinguished himself as a very skillful engraver.  From Rome he went to Florence, where his talents recommended him to the patronage of the Grand Duke Cosmo II., on whose death he returned to Nancy, where he was liberally patronized by Henry, Duke of Lorraine.  When misfortune overtook that prince, he went to Paris, whither his reputation had preceded him, where he was employed by Louis XIII. to engrave the successes of the French arms, particularly the siege of the Isle de Re, in sixteen sheets; the siege of Rochelle, do.; and the siege of Breda, in eight sheets.  His prints are very numerous, and are highly esteemed; Heineken gives a full list of his prints, amounting to over fifteen hundred!  The fertility of his invention and the facility of his hand were wonderful; yet his prints are accurately designed.  He frequently made several drawings for the same plate before he was satisfied.  Watelet says that he saw four different drawings by him for the celebrated Temptation of St. Anthony.  His drawings are also greatly admired and highly prized.