Virgil in a Basket

Unknown artist

According to legend, the magician Virgil fell in love with the Roman emperor’s daughter. One night she promised to bring him secretly to her bedchamber by drawing him up in a basket, but she left him dangling halfway to be mocked by passersby. The tale belongs to a popular 15th- and 16th-century repertory of stories illustrating women's ability to make fools of even the wisest of men.