The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-02-26
THE UNDRAPED MODEL.
WHAT CHICAGO ARTISTS HAVE TO
SAY OF THE NUDE IN ART.
The English Ccntroyersy-A Hindrance
to Amateurs-FamiIies of Models in
Europe-AH 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 societN 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 III the
whole ganut of questions and debatable
points included under the terms of literature
and art
In a general conversation on this subject
Mr. l.. C. 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 much
alore to draw from i'll the male figure
Il have known many models" continued
Mr. Earle, ''of good character who thought
nothing of sitting, but | have frequently
seen women of bad character who would re-
fuse to sit. As a rule the life class in Munich
meets every night, and there are from l00 10
$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 it
they We're 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 10 procure
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 a rule the Euro
pean models are noted for excellence in
some particular feature-head, arm, or bnst
but model who has satisfactory figure
throughout is a very rare thing.
On the costuned life class in Rome, where
there there are over 800 students who paint
in water colors, they have models who can
pose for two consecutive hours without rest.
OF course the longer they can pose the better
models they are So long a pose isn't neces-
slrp for a nude study, hut in painting drap-
cry, or q satin dress for instance, il is ex-
caelingly advantageous. The muscles II
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
"ChIiSt>. because of the shape OF their
heads ! remember man who started pos
ing as a boy and at last when he was 50
years old and had lost his hair and had be
come pulled with wine he was used as a
model for a monk, and he made a capital
one, too. The poor classes of Italy can earn
more by sitting as models than by doing any
other class of work"
Mr. H. T. Spread thought that the ques
non Of painting from the nude depended
somewhat on the career that the artist had
marked ont for himself Ii 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 thor
oagly good painter without studying from
the nude model.
THE PERFECTION OF ART.
"My reason for thinking So said Mr.
Spread, lis 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 | 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 a different thought.
| In the same way it Is necessary for an artist
| to know the possibilities of any movement Of
| the figure in order to enable him to see
whether any giveh pose Is really a possible
| one or not For that reason artists are
| obliged to suggest, even in a draped figure,
e Il,
| drapery over it will admit of their seeing,
knowing that the subtleSt change in that
| pose will give different impression OF the
| mental action of the figure
so 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 10 study art
without nature as it would he 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 a better study.
| No soul ptUr, however, would be fitted to pre-
| sent n Venus or female figure in the
| nude without a study of it any more
than he would lie able to draw
the male figure from study of a
female model. We can't draw form
that we don't understand Everything de
| ponds upon the way in which the artist
treats his subjects. have seen studies in
the academy that were almost revolving and
others that were beautiful--the difference
was simply difference of treatmcnt-Chi-