New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-05-24


gained the case. 2
A Difference. 5ls:
There is a distinction between the clas-
sic nude and the realistic naked but the
distinction is unknown in Chicago.
There is q place for the sacred works Of
art and q place for the profane, but it
does rot seem to have occurred to the
managers of the Worlds Fair in arrang-
ing heir ar treasures that these places
should be pro priately assigned. Al
far pieces and brothel pieces hang side
by side. adonnas, breathing sweet
ness and innocence, are placed in juxta-
position to pictures portraying all that is
llascivious all that is wanton. Crucifix-
ions, de ictingg with awful expression the
lagony Of the Redeemer, are scattered in
discrimin ately with romping Satyrs, Gu
pidss and Playci,es. In grouping theil
tre asures the managers of the Fair fell
lowed no line Of distinction between an
Gent and modern, historical and my tho
logical, sacred and profane, chaste aud
obscene. Yet respect for visitors, who
hold different views on these subjects,
who go together, old and young, men
and women, to inspect the exhibits, as
we'll as q regard for the objective dis
tinction between subjects, should have
induced the managers to make some
classification of these works of art.
! There is a defense Of the nude in art,
but it does not by any means cover ali
| the nakedness that is seen in Chicago
When the Greek philosophy possessed
mems minds they imagined that there
was somewhere, according to the coacep-
tionSof Plato, a being of absolute perfec-
ton for each genus or species that we see
here below. This being according to
them was copied in the things around us,
lbut thus intrusted with material SUR
roundings, the copy, no matter how Of
ten reproduced, fell away from the per-
Ifection Of the ideal. Whenever therefore
| the painter welded his brush or the sculp-
tor his chisel, he endeayored to make his
canvas or marble reproduce. this ideal.
Their gladiators but represented the ideal
of manly form, their Venus was the ideal
Of feminine beauty, but SO ideal that
around all these artistic conceptions there
is a veil Of preternatural innocence and
absence of sense. We are aptlto contem-
plate these beautiful creations for some
moments before realizing that they are
nude. This is what we call the classic
nude. Art Of this kind may be elevat-
ing and may make US look forward to q
nobler creation in the future, according
to the words Of the eloquent Prentiss:
There is d realm, where the beautiful
beings which. pass before us like shadows
now, will stay in our presence forever z
Besides this nude there is another.
which we have called the realistic naked.
represents realism not iidealism, it
confuses love with lust, natural attrac-
tiveness with lasciiyiious wantonness. To
justify tho dissertation Of the public
walls Of the Fair build ings with such
pictures, it will not do to say tia. all
things are clean 10 the clean. The ten
|dency Of these pictures is to make the
clean unclean, and especially to I'LL the
minds Of the young with images which.
give them distorted view Of life and;
may cause them e swerve from the path
|of noble endeayor,
Hs pictures Of this kind must BE exhiisl
|bited the examp Of the galleries Of
Europe should be 70 lloWet, where such
pictures are grouped ogether ii ! sepa
rate hal I from which the young are ex-l
Guided Il ii TO be hoped that eventu-I
some such arrang eelncnt will Be made
the polls
Sounsel Fees Dung wish
pour opiniion. 81, IS 81 Issliethe your
|dauel would make me- 3 good ea''
& aWyer 81. sir. she IA, Al MI laiire