It may be a question whether vanity is not essential to any one who is forced to compete in excellence with other gifted men.

Vanity means emptiness, and in the case of the artist it means that emptiness which craves to be filled with praise.

The artist may doubt his own work, but he is bitterly disappointed if other people doubt it also.

Marzio had his full share of this kind of vanity, which, as in most cases, extended beyond the sphere of his art.

How often does one hear two or three painters or sculptors who are gathered together in a studio, laying down the law concerning Government, society, and the distribution of wealth.