Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1891-08-26
Salisbury on Me Nude.

sense OF numOr. IN the A1OuSe Ol 1OIuS,
a fortnight ago, Lord Stanley, of Alder
ley, questioned the government concern
ing the recent acquisition by the Nation
al Gallery of Mr.. Philips II. Calderon's
famous picture entitled "The Renuciation
of St. Elizabeth of Hungary" the nudity
of the central figure of which has been
the subject of so much comment. Lord
Salisbury's reply, which was briefly re.
Iported by cable, is thus given in extenso
in the London papers
The only idea he had been able to form
of the picture was from a woodcut in the
page of Punch, where it was called "Zeo
showing her back to the members Of the
county council" He was wholly unable
to enter upon Lord Stanleys course Of
reasoning until he laid down some canon
as to the course an artist should pursue
in dealing with the question of clothes and
no clothes. [Laughter.] He had OBJ
served that artists took a different view
on that subject from the majority of man
kind, and that matters which they held
to be wholly innocuous would, if trans
lated into ordinary life, attract the atten-
ton of the police. loud laughter.l
Nor was that confined to the subjects
of ordinary life. AS far as his experience
went, even in Misrepresentation of sacred
subjects, he had noticed that the desire to
exhibit knowledge of the human form
had overcome the desire to clothe sanity
persons with sufficient amount Of cos
tune. Laughter He referred to the
Madalena of Gruercino at Naples, and
to the Magdalen of Correggio at Paris.
Neither of these two would answer to the
view of clothing that was entertained at
the latter end of the ninteenth century
IA laugh but he had never heard of
any suggestion of profanity on the part
of either of these two artists, and these
pictures were shown in places where the
Roman Catholic faith prevailed. There
fore, he was unable to say, even if he had
the power, that he would interfere with
the Chantrey trustees on this occasion,
because he failed to see his noble friends
canon of art But there was one topic Of
consolation which he would suggest TO
the mind of his noble friend.
He had not been to the gallery in
which the Chantrey pictures were exhib-
tied, but some friends Of his had been,
and they assured him that it was a place
of great seclusion [laughterl, suited to
the exhibition of works Of this char
acter. In fact, when his friends went on
Saturday afternoon-a perfectly free
day-there was not a soul in the place
Laughter If that was the fact, he
asked if any better disposition of the pict
ure could have been made ? [ Renewed
laughter.] IF it had been sold to a pri
vate owner, it would have been included
in the collection in his gallery, where il
would be seen by all kinds Of persons, in
cluding maidservants and others, daily
Laughter But the place where it was
now to be seen was reserved for the study
of those practicing art, and who were su-
perior to the prejudices which invaded
the mind of his noble friend, and where,
at all events, it would be deprived Of the
power either of injuring public morality
or of offending the religious feelings Of
those to whom his noble friend referred.
T Hear 4 He wholly disbelieved that the
artist had the slightest idea or intention
of offending any religious susceptibilities.