Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-07
1 WASHINGTON GIRL AT JuLrEN's.
ecsnss ana Iaesdeass On the Great French
Art school school


Art school school
corrsspondence Of The Evening star.
PANS October 90 1891.
am one OF the irrepressible American girls
who viii persist in ''bobbing" up in unexpected
places, and have perched myself by the side
OF writing desk TO tell you all about the cell
ebrated Julien school. Of which am q pupil
Well, II ID located in the Rue de BENZ (this par
ecular one ID. but Julien has four others in
dinerent parts Of PARISH II IL near the
Champs kiysee. in the fashionable quarter.
we enter through large door, then mp q wind
ING ssair-in fact II is 20 elevated tina, one could
not 60 further without mesndering through
the sky light out upon the roof. We were
ushered into little square Office which looks
down from both sides upon two large studios.
Wen nlied with students Of all sizes ages and
nationalities-of the feminine gender. The
men are In separate buildings from the women
bouguereau. Fleury, Lefebvre and Benjamin
Constant, all Of whom are celebrated artists,
are the professors at the different Julien
atelierk
There are four large rooms for the students,
with the light OF heaven shining down through
the skylights upon the chocolate-stained walls,
and four motiolless models, with their bodies
rig,d as craven images, posing in each room.
with various degrees Of assiduity.
MUST 90 EARIY on MONDAY.
We must 60 70 the class early Monday morning
to get good piace-that is. to obtain the best
view of the model The same position may be
retained the whole week
There are girls and girls at the school-ugly.
pretty, black, brown and red-haired girls.
some IDLE, but many in earnest
"hen Mr.. Julien enters all the girls crowd
around 10 hear what he has 70 announce, or TO
witt IL = ~
notice defects; has only to glance at a pupils
drawing TO be able to tell whether she likes her
WORK and how long q time she has been at il:
whether she viii make an artist or is only play
ing with art.
Each young lsdy has an idea that she will
make chef d uvre during the week. but
somehow IL never comes. Perhaps its because
the model wigglea The model has q way Of
letting an arm or leg fall slightly out Of the
mark when the chef d'euvre is lust on the point
OF coming We, however. work with q will
French. American and Spanish, English and
Russian girls; princess, baroness, marchioness
and piebeian work in the desperate attempt
70 represent q man or woman, as the model
may be, and not q wooden doll or q bag of
potatoes, as their drawing would imply 1t is
astonishing to find how q little line moved one
eighth Of an inch to one side or the other will
distort the figure to such an extent that it will
be only . caricature
WAITING ron TIE Professor
With these difficulties in the way is IL strange
that all the girls should await with great
trembling the coming Of the professor? Ny
hrst week il was Mr.. Bouguereau- He was to
come Saturday morning. I tried to imagine
his looks-this wonderful painter Of venuses
and Cuplda I thought Of the exquisite model
ing, beautiful lines and marvellous drawing
which one sees in his pictures Of the delicate
limbs of the Venuses, the undesirable eyes Of
the little angels and the holy purity
OF bis Madonna. Thinking Of all these things.
there came before my mind eye q tall. straight
man with solemn eyes and gray hair, with thin
and nervous hands. But Saturday came. and
had arrived-would be with us in q momentl
We heard . quick step outside, and at the
same instant the door opened and in walked
the incest little stout man. just like Santa Claus
His eyes seemed to sparkle with fun. His hair
was gray, but opposite to the thin, nervous man
He started at the beginning of the class and
his observations Gin French always were Just.
sometimes Q drawing would be pas NAL"
sometimes pas NAL du tout" sometimes ''af-
freuse, and sometimes the student is sent back
to draw hands and feet He always chooses the
best drawings in the class and the happy pupil
whose drawings are chosen has an almost ir-
resistible desire to embrace him on the spot
Anyway, that is the way q very particular
friend OF mine felt when her drawing was
selected.
YLEURY AND HIS CRITICISMS.
And Robert Fleury, the other professor-he
IL regal looking and about ten years younger
than Bouguereau. I am afraid the girls are in
clined to admire him overmuch. He is q
bachelor and seems 10 take special interest in
each young lady. He walks up to q drawing.
calmly stands there with his hand resting on
the easel. his eyes on the drawing, his counte-
nance absolutely sans expression for five min
utes. Rata tat-rat-a-tati the measured tan
Of his nails against the hard wood OF the easel
Is all that breaks the silence. A sudden turn
and his eyes are fixed in . searching gaze upon
the fair student, who by that time wishes she
was anywhere IN heaven or earth except this
particular spot upon which she stands.
II the drawing is good he smiles and SAYS.
&c nest pas NAL" II it is bad he signs
One day particularly bad drawing startled
the usually serene Mre Robert Fleury. He
threw mp his hands. Mon Dieu, aui a fait
celal" On heavens name, who did that?) A
smiling French miss came tripping up 10 re-
ceivs the injunction that '.jamais jamais" was
she to finish o drawing at the academy until
she was sure she had her man standing ON his
feet and not swinging in the middle Of the can
vas, contrary to all the laws Of gravity.
And 50 We work and plod along at the Julien
school; sometimes we make good drawings and
sometimes bad, but We all hope at some future
day to catch that ever-elusive something which.
II properly revealed, constitutes art