The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1886-02-05
THE UNBRAPED MODEL.
WHAT CHICAGO ARTISTS HAVE TO
SAY OF THE NUDE IN ART.
The English Controversy-A Hindrancs
to Amateurs-Families of Models Ia
Europe-All Sorts of Specialties
A Sculptor's Opinion.

Social circles in England have been greatly
disturbed of late over a resurrection of that
ancient sensation regarding the immoral
characters Of artists models and the per-
nicious influence which they are supposed to
exercise upon society in general and upon
art students in particular Probably more
irrelevant matter has been written upon this
subject. by persons wholly incompetent to
touch it than upon any other topic in the
whole ganlut of questions and debatable
points included under the terms of literature
and art
In a general conversation on this subject
Mr.. L. @. Earle, of Chicago, said that the
drawing of the female figure by amateurs
was rather detrimental than otherwise to
their progress, because there was so nluch
more to draw from i'll the male figure.
II have known many models" continued
Mr.. Earle, "of good character who thought
nothing of sitting, but I have frequently
seen women of bad character who would re-
fuse to sit. As rule, the life class in Munich
meets every night, and there are from 100 to
$50 students drawing from the same model.
When the pose is particularly good the boys
are filled with enthusiasm. They forget all
about it being nude figure, and they don't
think any more of it than if they would if
they were looking at a wooden Indian on the
street
AT HOME AND ABROAD.
"Here in Chicago so few artists paint the
figure that it is almost impossible to procure
a model In Paris and all over Europe
there are families of models who take great
pains to keep their figures in good shape by
bathing and exercise. AS rule the Euro
pean models are noted for excellence in
some particular feature-head, arm, or bnst
but model who has q satisfactory figure
throughout is very rare thing.
"In the costumed life class in Rome, where
there there are over 800 students who paint
in water colors, they hive models who can
pose for two consecutive hours without rest.
OF course the longer they can pose the better
models they are. So long pose isn't neces-
sarp for nude study, but iE painting drap-
cry, Or a satin dress for instance, it is ex-
ceedingly advantageous The muscles Of
these models who are capable of such pro-
longed poses frequently become so set that
they are unable to step from the platform
for some minutes after pose.
"The models in the old country have all
sorts of specialties. Some of them are called
'christs," because of the shape of their
heads. I remember man who started pos
ing as boy and at last when he was 30
years old and had lest his hair and had be-
come puffed with wine he was used as a
model for monk, and he made capital
one, too. The poor classes of Italy can earn
more by sitting as models than by doing any
other class Of work"
Mr.. Fl. F. Spread thought that the ques-
tion of painting from the nude depended
somewhat on the career that the artist had
marked out for himself If he intended to
follow landscape painting study of the
nude was not necessarily Indispensable, but
if he purposed to become an artist in the
figure line he could never become a thor
ougly good painter without studying from
the nude model.
THE PERFECTION OF ART.
"My reason for thinking So" said Mr..
Spread, 'is that the perfection OF art is the
suggestiveness with which the artist inter-
prets nature, and you can't treat a. thing in
suggestive way unless you are perfectly
acquainted with all the details of the object
that you want to treat l do not know of
anything in which this holds good so well as
in the figure We all know how the move
ment of the half an inch one way or another
will give expression to different thought
In the same way it is necessary for an artist
10 KNOW Gnc POSSlDtllUleS OF any movement VI
the figure in order to enable him TO see
whether any giveh pose is really possible
one or not. For that reason artists are
obliged to suggest, even in a draped figure,
more oftentimes of the real form than the
drapery over it viii admit of their seeing,
knowing that the subtlest change in that
pose will give different impression of the
mental action of the figure.
$50 far as the moral phase OF the question
is concerned, / have worked from boyhood
IN Europe in various nude life classes, and
have never discovered any tendency to i'm
morality of any kind"
. Mr.. Howard Kretschmar, the sculptor,
said that it was impossible to study art
without nature as it would be to study sur
gerry without anatomy. There was more
drawing in the male figure, it was grander
and stronger than the female figure, and it
was considered by artists as a better study.
No sculptor, however, would be fitted to pre-
sent Venus or female figure in the
nude without a study of it any more
than he would be able to draw
the male figure from a study of q
female model We can't draw a form
that we don't understand: Everything de-
pends upon the way in which the artist
treats his subjects. 4. / have seen studies in
the academy that were almost revolving and
others that were beautifulA-the difference
was simply difference of treatment.-Chi-
cagO News