The Croatian National Theater on the edge of the lower town in Zagreb has been on my mind lately. Whenever I get a chance, I observe it carefully. Completed at the end of the Nineteenth Century under the Austro-Hungarian empire, it is one of the few acknowledged masterpieces that adorn the city. Positioned smack in the middle of an otherwise empty block, it looks no less than monumental. Endowed with many a pillar, it looks tall, as well. Its elaborate architecture busies the eye from every which side. The park surrounding it completes the pretty picture. And yet, the building is on the small side. Half a block, say. It is not really tall, either. The bulk of it is three-floors high, in fact. Many of its windows are surrounded by so much ornamental architecture that they look much bigger than they actually are. All in all, the building is actually a masterpiece in deception. When it was built, it only exaggerated the size of the emperor’s gift. Ever since, it exaggerates the importance of culture in the Croatian capital. But it surely deserves careful analysis of all the tricks employed by the clever architect to make the building appear much bigger than it actually was. And that is an aspect of architectural design well worth investigating in some detail. The profession of deception for the greater glory of the magnificent client, be it royal or otherwise.