St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-09
lasses in the league and the acad envy,

classes in the league and the acad envy,
at the Metropolitan schools, and In MIR.
Slim sons school. Some of the classes
were mixed, though most Of them were
either OF women or men. After care
full thinking of it all over have no hesi-
tat ion in saying that from the models
averaged more sincerity and industry
and more genuine art feeling than
either Of the other. In the mems
classes, especially in the poor mems
classes, the students are nearly all
working at art for arts sake, although
there are good many dabbIers who
haven't the perseverance to do good work
This is particularly true of private
classes. where men who are rich take
their art lessons. But as for the women
well, | say deliberately that there is
not one woman out of half dozen that
studies from the nude form
h Solely For Arts Sake.
Most Of them do it for the sake Of doing
something that they think is little I'M
who have mother motive than SenSu-
BUSINESS. There are women in the life
classes in this city who have been in
them every term since they were found
ed, and who haven't advanced a part
licle in all that time so far as art is con-
cerned. | am told this by persons con-
5nected with the schools and have had
the women pointed out to me. You
can't tell me that those women study
from the nude year after year in that
way just from perseverance and in the
hope of becoming artists. What they are
after is merely to satisfy their sensuouS
feelings. They delight in dwelling on
the nude form, and they pay their
money and dabble over their paints for
the sake of that. Then there are many
young girls who, without knowing 1t
themselves, are studying from the nude
for their personal qualification, and not
for the sake of art. You will hear them
saying: ''Oh, do so love to work from
the nude. just notice the curve
OF that hip; isn't it positively de-
lcious!'' or, "Just look at the lines
thing more perfectp' They have no
more idea OF real art when the tenn
ends than when it began. Nine-tenths
of the women in the female classes are
horrid prudes, whatever may be their
motives. One of the female class-rooms
at the league has the walls covered
with
Drawings from the Nude,
most of them by French artists. Of
course, there were nude men Ill the lot,
and these women made a fuss because
they were compelled to look at such
things!
''In the mixed classes it is different.
Both men and women who go into such
a class do it for pure art. There is no
for ~
Of the female students usually object
model in such class, and leave the
class on account of it, but
those who remain in are just
as modest and pure-mlnded as
those who leave-more SO, l think, for
there must be some baa in the mind OF
a person who thinks of imprOprietyin
such matter. There is no doubt in my
mind that the students make more prog
ress in mixed classes. They work hard
er and pay more strict attention to their
work than where the sexes work alone,
and, the classes being larger, there is
more chance for mutual help by look
ing at each others work. You see, a
model gets to noticing such things, es-
peeially when she goes around from one
class to another all the time, and gets
interested in seeing
How the Different Ones Progress.
$50 far as the model personally is
concerned the male or the mixed classes
are equally pleasant, but deliver me
from a Woman's class. Women have
never the slightest consideration for a
model. The model must be undreSSed
and on the platform exactly on the
moment, and she must stand
there her full twenty-five minutes.
gFhe minute she sits down to rest up go
all the windows, and they stay up for
the full FIVE minutes that she is allowed.
1t never seems to occur to a woman stu
dent that she may step outside and get
a breath of fresh air if the room is too
warm, while the model has to stay
there and take the temperature as
it comes, nc matter what it
is. The rooms are none too warm, any
how; the women won't stand the heat
as the men will, and the model who
poses regularly for Woman'S class Is
almost certain to get the rheumatism
from the exposure to draughtS and cold
during her rests. At any rate did. l
Suffered From rheumatism
continually after had posed awhile
for the women's classes, and that is one
reason why have quit posing as bus
mess. Then the women will never give
model rest beyond the regular five
minues in every half hour. no matter
how hard the pose, while the men have
some consideration for her, and let her
rest whenever she is becoming ex-
hausted.
.sThese prudish people who are
shocked at the mere exhibition of
nude woman before a class ought to
attend the anatomy lectures in the art
schools. There they set skeleton up
besid e the woman, ana the professor
compares the two and points out upon
the woman every particular and separ-
ate muscle. and tells where it goes on
the skeleton and how it is fast
ened on. Then he illustrates
it with clay, building up muscles on the
skeleton or filling out the models form
with the same stuff where it is lacking
in development. I hesitated a good
while before 1 would pose for the Aead-
envy anatomy class. / didn't like the
idea of being handled so freely and hav-
ing all the Greek and Latin parts of my
body discussed so calmly, but made up
my mind it was business, just like the
rest, and | did it"