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   The manner in which the designs were grouped and arranged upon the
walls of an apartment by a Roman artist has not been much improved,
although so many ages have passed since their works were executed.      
 They
commonly divided the sides of their rooms into compartments or panels, in
the centre of which some historical or other subject was delicately painted.
The stiles and bands of these panels were ornamented with scrolls, frequently
blended with representations of some fanciful or natural objects, all of
which
were remarkable as clever delineations, and gave evidence of strong and highly
cultivated imaginations.
   The painting in encaustic colours was brought by the Romans to a state
as near perfection as stucco or fresco painting seems to be capable of, even
in the hands of modern artists; but transparency, which gives a peculiar
charm to all the productions of the present school, was quite unknown to
them. This want of transparency in the works of the Roman artists has been
deplored, and ridiculously enough, even censured by some authors of the
present day, who, judging of all works of art by a comparison with their
own
standard, which is frequently a faulty and singularly incorrect model, imagine
there can be no excellence in colour without transparency. By such persons
the Romans are blamed for not attaining to an impossibility; a term we are
warranted in using, as that quality cannot now be obtained in fresco painting,
although it has been repeatedly attempted by artists of great ingenuity and
talent. When it is remembered that the Romans were accustomed to execute
all their paintings upon the hardest and most enduring substances, and in
fact,
that their art was confined to the decoration of the walls and ceilings of
buildings, we cannot be surprised that they failed in obtaining any refinement
in the use of colours.  But they earned a lasting distinction in the exquisite
grace, beauty, and comprehensiveness of their designs, which are still un-
equalled in form and composition.     To those who are dissatisfied with
their
works, and find no beauty without transparency, we can only say, it is not
to
be seen in the fresco works of Raphael and the great masters of modern times.