Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-07-12

they might go through different parts of the
world, and in some of the southern climates
and African regions find patterns oe clothing
which, though they might exempt the model
from the anathema of the noble lord-(laugh-
terl-would still afford ground for objection,
IN consequence Of not affording sufficient COW
erlng for the human form. Laughter
The house divided For the motion, 80;
against the motion, l47 ; majority against the
motion, lis.
One of our contemporaries, and one too that
claims to speak for the best culture and the
most civilized decency of the present time,
commends the speech of Lord Palmerston and
finds in it :" his characteristic hatred of can't"
That is to say, it is can't to make objection
to such -" studies from the lfe" Ordinarily
these naked exhibitions would be indecent be-
yond expression, and all decent people would
very properly take them as satisfactory proof
OF shameless depravity. But when high art"
requires them, they instantly become pure and
noble and must be admired as the beautiful art
blossoms of high civilization. tits very edify-
ing no doubt, to all persons DESTROYS of reputa
ton for cultivated tastes to hear such lectures
on cant, and see the lofty bearing with which
such ''claims of art" are justified. Who does
not shrink and hide his strait-laced fancies,
when one of these selfesteeming oracles of art
refinement undertakes to give our minds such
clearance of boorish scruples
But there is more to be said of cant than we
are likely to hear from such sources, and there
are not few reasonable and well cultivated
people who fail to be convinced by such ora
Giles. Moreover, it is not quite certain that art
in our time is original and divine enough
to demand such sacrifices of decency 4;
and, if it were, it is not certain that
it would be found modelling or painting
Venuses and Appollos. We have in our
time something more than the physical
development of the Greeks, and our art should
illustrate something more. But our painters
and sculptors, those of them at least who do
most at modelling and drawing the female
form, usually go to Italy and become copyists,
instead of going TO nature and the ideas of
their time, to become great artists. It may be
reasonably doubted whether anything connect
ed with our civilization is more dependent on
lists" Their reputation is to a large extent
artificial, and their works are really uninspir-
ed and useless.
Our contemporary, who sees nothing but
cant in such cart studies" as that motion in
the British parliament sought to suppress,
should ask himself seriously whether he would
allow his wife or sister to be exhibited naked
for the benefit of such studies If he would
not, then is it civilized, or even manly, to
MAINTAIN that any other woman may decently
be put to such uses Talk of cant No
style of cant ever was or ever can be so con.
temptible as the cant of art. Really great
artists do not use it but it is the whole sup.
port of the cOpyists and imitators, and it
abounds in what are called "art.criticisms."
No civilized man can desire that women
should all be like Pauline Bonaparte, who
found no inconvenience in standing naked for
use as sculptors model, SO long as "there
was a fire in the room" Pure and modest
womanhood is better than all the painted and
sculptured Venuses that have been wrought
since the days when; among the Greeks,
sculpture was a glorious reality, and not an
imitators sham.
1t does not seem to US that this matter was
treated with becoming dignity and self respect
in the discussion we have quoted but the En-
glsh are not the most refined people in Eu-
rope If they were, their select aristocracy
would not patronize pugilism, and make pets
of such human brutes as Tom Sayers.