Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-03-19

But Cn6Teafter, with the exception
Of a few dignifed pictures by Law.
renee, the beauty or the power of re
producing it, seems to have disar
peared. We hear Of the beauties OF
the beginning Of the last century and
Of the last century and Of the early
Victorian era, but they fail to i'm
press us with any sense CT the dignity
and beauty Of their predecessors
There is a mawkishness, a senfimen.
tality, a bread-and-butter atmosphere
peryading all the pictures that are II
existence, mad one energies with i
sigh of relief into the renaissance .:
today, where, if the beauty Of women
. falls somewhat short, there is certain
| ~ return to the picturesQuesnes1
and dignity of the past. A woman
! must always be more difficult to paint
than man, for beauty is so depend
ent on expression, while color, charm
and many nameless attributes which
contribute to the perfection Of the
ensemble, as we'll as the surroundings
of life and the fashions of the day
! cannot fail either to improve or de-
tract from the artists power Of max
ing a beautiful picture.
There is no doubt about one i'm
! DOrtant element in the question ii
the degree Of beauty of any age Oh
country, and that is the influence
that fashion must have either to liz,
crease or diminish it's effect, and tl1
/ int of nj I, !,
great ally in the picturesqueness
and variety of the fashions in clothes
! and in the coiffure. The flowing wigs
! the gorgeous brocades and satins OF
the days Of Vandyke and LEY, the
magnificent lace, jewels and pearls
at once added richness and splendoI
to their canvas, while the powder, the
picturesque flowing robes and COR
geous toilets of the days of the
woman whom Gainsborough and Rey-
! holds painted made a picture in itself
quite impossible to render justice to.
Who could make a. duchess of Devon
shire anything but beautiful in her
picturesque hat, her lovely blue
gown and her soft draperies?
What the great masters owe to the
fashions Of that day it is impossible
to eXaggerate for though the beauty
Of the women they painted was oi
high standard it was enhanced by the
prevailing fashion of the time, and to
it we owe, in a great measure on"
conception Of the beauty of the
, women of the 18th century. The
women of our day have not deteriOrat.
ed or lost the charm of their grand
mothers or even earlier generations,
/ but there is not the same beauty in
/ the early Victorian era and it is, we
! believe because the fashion was ugly,
i grotesque and unbecOming to the
I highest degree. The long waists
! the crinolines, the poke ebopnets and
! beflOuhced skirts would have ruined
| the beauty Of Venue, while the ring
! lets, the bandeauX and chignons utter
ly destroyed the beauty and shape oI
| every head and the hair which
covered it. The old saying, Beauty
unadorned," is surely out of date
for though that which is so superla.
! tive as to defy criticism is independ-
| ent of any of the adventitious ad
| juncts of dress, there is an average
of good looks which is not in so IN
assailable a position, and the beauty
of period is enhanced or spoiled by
| the fashion of the day, Of which tho
women Of the early Victorian era are
an example.
AS the Victorian fashions became
modified by the influence of French
! taste, the peculiarities and idiOsyncTa
sizes OF so years ago disappeared, and
dress has become more picturesque
and much more a matter of individ
| ual taste. There is not the sam5
| slavish adherence to the prevailing
! fashion, and while the style and idea
are followed, there are many means Ct
adapting it to each wearer. The bro
/ Cade, laces and soft muslins Of The
/ days of Reynolds and Gainsborougl7
! have regained their sway, and the
! cheapness Of material and all the &C
| cessOries Of dress allow any woman tC
make the most of the beauty the gods
/ may have given her. 1t is not that the
] beauty of the English race has i'm
| proved SO much as that the process uI
setting it in a becoming frame has
made so many more lovely pictures
TIE dress Of women in the middle ans
lower classes fifty years ago was
cheap ugly and unbecoming. TODAY
the numbers of smart, pretty womel
that are to be seen everywhere be
long to no particular class or st. The
| domestic servant, yhen out in her Sun
: day best is quite as we'll dressed anC
j as pretty as her mistress and tht
whole standard has risen and i'm
proved from the picturesQueness ani
variety of fashion. 1t is perhaps cas-,
to carry this theory to a straininE
point but no one can surely maintain
that woman is ever quite independ
i end Of the advantages when be
coming fashions bestow on her Their,
is no beauty so great. so absolute, a
not to be enhanced by the framework
, IN which it is set and the Towel,
/, women of every age owe some O
their charm to the background il
{ which they stand.
REVOLT OF THE MOROCCANS.