The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-11-24
A rABcoEp PICTURE.
The "Fsll of Babylon" Cannot Be
Brought to This Country.

Tno al VI GaOJ 40d S6uuOL Dc
Brought to This Country.
From the PhaadeIDhia Press.
NEW YORK. Nov. I9.-The order Of Act
ing Secretary of the Treasury Spaulding to
Collector Hendricks to seize the painting
known as THE Fall Of Babylon" If he
thought best to do so, has excited a great
deal of curiosity concerning the picture.
Josiah W. Leeds Of Philadelphia called the
attention Of the treasury department
TO the alleged Objectionable character
of the painting, and asked that
il be kept out of the United States. The
description he sent to the department was
enough to satisfy Acting Secretary Spauld-
ing that the artistic tastes of this country
would not be elevated by the introduction
and exhibition Of such picture. Mr.. Leeds
claims that the picture is immoral Artists
and art dealers who have seen the picture
insist that it is not immoral any more than
thousand other works Of art already here
in public galleries and private homes.
As a matter of fact, thousands Of copies
of these paintings are here now. They are
small, it is true, and lack the sensuous color
ing of the French artists, but the scene is
faithfully depicted. Photographs and pho
togravure copies can be found at most of
the important art stores in the big cities.
These were not interdicted and artists think
bDdb ~ WOuA4 10 uAJu5b W Llo 1IIl-
portation OF the original. La Monte de
Babylon" as the Objectionable painting is
named, is the work of Rochegrosse aud was
exhibited at the Paris salon this year
Thousands OF Americans saw it there and
admired it. Perhaps Mr.. Leeds was among
those who gazed upon its suggestive
figures and was shocked. 1t is an
unusually large painting about twenty feet
high and contains numerous figures. Some
of these are attired in costumes supposed to
have been worn by the Babylonians in the
days before Cyrus and his Persian hordes
leveled the city to the ground. But the ma
jority are nude, and nearly every un-
clothed figure is that of a woman. 1t was a
wild Bacchanalian orgie that the Baby
lonian king and his favorites INDUCED in
that Hateful night. All the jewellers were
too far gone to heed the cackling of the
geese, and too blear-eyed to see the inscrip-
ton on the wall. Meme, meme tekeJ up
hGrsin."
PIECE OF RICH CoLoRING.
Rochegrosse has treated the subject In a
mastery way. The coloring Is as rich as
Bougeran's or Constants, and the tinrinO of
the nude forms is so life-like as to suggest
the real The figures. too, are life-size.
Most OF them appear to be sleeping or in a
stupor, brought on by their indulgence at
the feast. Dancing girls lie where they fell
cumbent men and women is gorgeous
canopy, and rich hangings and festoonings
filed up the overhead space. Musical
instruments lie scattered around and over
turned ewers and fagons decorate the BAN
quoting board. In the foreground a nude
woman is reclining in limp manner on a
divan. Her feet touch the floor and her
back lies over the divan. The posture is
one OF absolute abandon. The only cover
ing is thin string of gaudy flowers that
bad fallen from her hands. This figure is
the most prominent in the painting. Here
and there are some of the jewellers who had
not been overcome by the wine, shouting to
the sleepers or trying to arouse them.
The immortality, the cavaliers claim, does
not lie IN the nudity, but in the positions of
the figures. They make the same objec-
ton that Ruskin did to the painting of a
nude woman on exhibition in the Royal
Academy of London. Collector Hendricks
said to-day that the painting will not be
permitted to come here, and II it should ar
rve it would be seized. The law under
which he proposes to act is section II of the
new tariff law, which says: "All persons
are prohibited from importing into the
United States from any foreign country,
any obscene book, pamphlet, paper, writing,
advertisement, circular, print, picture,
drawing or other representation, figure or
image on, or OF paper or other material, or
uuy CdsV lnstrunent or other article or an
immoral nature All such prohibited arti-
cles and the package in which they are con-
tanned In the course of importation shall be
detained by the officer of customs. and pro-
ceedlngs taken against the same as pre-
scribed in the following section, unless it
appears to the satisfaction of the collector
of customs that the obscene articles con-
tanned in the package were inclosed therein
without the knowledge or consent of the
ImnNrfaV ngfor
HEAVY PENALTY IMPOSED.
The penalty for importing any immoral
picture, publication. or representation is
fixed by section 12 of the tariff law at a fine
of not more than 5000, or by imprison-
ment at hard labor for not more than ten
years, or both. Mr.. Knoedler, of the firm
of art importers at Twenty-second street
and Fifth avenue, said that he had seen the
picture in Paris at the salon.
rs it immoralp he was asked.
mo, it is not. 1t is no more immoral
than other works Of art where nudity is
portrayed. don't see why a special order
should be given from " ashington to the
collector of the port to prevent its importa-
ton. The collector himself should be
allowed to judge Of its character"
Had you heard that it was to be brought
hereF'
mo, but presume the intention was to
eA"iolt H. NOW, elnese onJecVlon mas oeen
made, | suppose it will not be sent over.
The character of any work Of art is mat
ter of individual judgment. Some people
see danger and evil in everything. and
would have artists confine themselves to
landscapes and portraits in full garb."
Mr.. Hegger, the Broadway importer of
foreign works of art, said that he could not
see any objection to the painting "PeopIe
who are afraid Of being contaminated need
not 90 to see IT," was Mr.. Hegger's sapient
comment.