Los Angeles herald., 1891-08-11
THE NUDE In ART.
The Chief of Police as a
Critic.
Objection to a Photograph OF
Lagnier's Painting.
A Ridiculous Episode Regarding a
Work of Art.
Complaints Made About a Picture In 9
Spring Street Show window Cause
the Chief to Order Its Removal.
Nothing the Matter with 1t.

The chief of police is apparently an
art critic. There may be some people
who were not aware of that fact; if so,
they are now enlightened.
The chief has very refined ideas about
art, of course, and so, when last week
several people of the ilk termed "long-
hairs" complained about an obscene
picture on exhibition at the show win
dow OF Mr.. M. H. Alter, the optician at
126 South Spring street, he on Saturday
sent two police officers to the place
with the order to Mr.. Alter to remove
the picture, Mr. Alter very foolishly
obeyed.
The picture in question was shown in
graphoscope, an instrument for en-
larging pictures. Occupying its place
Mr.. Alter has now placed photograph
of a donkey!
The painting from which the photo
vicious pictures, the Luxembourg gallery
in Paris. When Mr.. Glass goes to Paris
and visits that collection OF paintings,
which some Philistines think are beau
tiful specimens of the painters art, he
will probably order Mr.. Luxembourg un-
der arrest, for there are several others in
the place which would be equally Of
fensive to critic, who judges pictures
from the point of view that the nude
must be obscene.
The title of the picture is Sale of Cir
cassian Girls at the Base of the Pyra-
mids, and the artist is Lagnier, man
who has probably for the first time
been adjudged obscene. The scene is
laid on the edge of the Sahara desert, at
the base of the great pyramid. The
slave dealers have half a dozen young
girls on exhibition, most of them nude.
In the foreground are the dealers, hag-
Cling with several grave Arabs and
Moor; to the lett are the girls, and to
the right one poor victim is struggling
with the men who are bearing her away
to her purchasers tent.
There is absolutely nothing in the
whole picture to cause offense to the
most delicate perceptions. "A low, NOR.
bid mind might find vent for it's evil
impulses from sight of it, but such
minds are incapable Of anything else.
The picture in question has not sim
gle iota of what is termed suggestive
ness. The figures of the girls are, it is
true, portrayed nude, but the prevailing
tone of the picture is the tragedy of the
situation, the unspeakable anguish of
the helpless girls, the pitiless bargaining
OF the slave dealers, and the business
like attitudes of the buyers, who regard
the slaves as so many chattels, are the
details which form the sorrowful senti-
ment of the whole. The photograph
can give no idea of course of the wonder
full coloring of the original, but it does
show that it is painting perfectly de-
void of anything gross.
There is in the same show window a
statuette of Powers Greek slave, which
is eloquent with the purity of design
and the beauty of the conception of the
original. 1t is also a naked female
figure, but somehow it has escaped the
ban of the police go far. Why, it is
hard to tell for it is just exactly, no
more and no less, as obscene as the pic
ture.
A more ridiculous matter has hardly
ever occurred here. The objection to
to the picture is on a par with that Of
the Minnesota legislator who wanted to
forbid the wearing of tights on the
stage, and is of the same value as the
modesty which makes some people
speak of the climbs" of table.
Mr.. Alter said to HERALD reporter
yesterday: ut was very foolish thing
for the chief to do, and Of course l could
have made good fight on the matter,
but it was not worth controversy. If
the long hairs who complained about
the picture would visit any picture store
in the city they would find similar pic
lures, and sometimes those which are
really ohiectionahle -