Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-02-01
Prosaic Side of Artists Models

uOuIS Ut more WITHOUT rest. In6y al
ways tell me, of course, to stop, but
l know it pleases them best for me to
keep right on After a long pose
man needs long rest with absolute
relaxation.
who are the men in the profess
sion? Well, I'll tell you. There are
about half dozen of us in this coun-
try who are really professionals, and
then there is great raft of people
who get little posing to do now and
then. Most of these come in from
other callings; sometimes it's a case
of an actor who hasn't got an engage
ment and must live somehow. There
are lot of semiprofessional Italians
who have been accustomed to pose for
almost nothing in their own country
and then come here and cut the rates.
One of the most popular models for
many years in New York, fellow
with whom l posed when | was over
there for few weeks, was big, full
blooded Indian. He was one of the
few real professionals. All sorts of
people try it on now and then when
they get hard up.
Posing in the life classes OF a
school like the one at the Boston Mu-
scum is about the most satisfactory
kind there is. If man gets we'll
liked by the instructors and students
the work is steady and the pay of
course sure. And that's more than
you can say for the jobs offered by
some of the artists. Some painters
want to engage you to go to their stu
dos for day now and then. If you
agree to do so you very likely lose
solid week of employment.
Another thing that makes posing
in the art school more satisfactory is
that the teachers never choose exag-
gerated attitudes. In a painters stu
dio you may have to do all sorts of
queer things. Sometimes when an
artist is representing a man thrown
from a horse he will swing you in
rings in mid air and make you keep
a pose of that sort for hours at time,
with every muscle of your body under
severe strain. The instructors at the
school believe that it is better for the
students to draw from simple, grace
full poses into which the body settles
naturally. They don't encourage any
doing feats for the sake of showing
off big muscles. That's better for the
students and it doesn't wear the mod
ell out"
During the art season models such
as either of the two just described
will pose for from nine to fourteen
hours day. These men have to keep
being strictly temperate in matters of
eating and drinking.
Many artists have the reputation of
being memorable in their demands up
on the models strength. A character
istic example appears in an anecdote
of the late Adolphe Mcneil, the Ger
man painter, who at one time was en-
gagged on a work of mural decoration
and kept a man posed in an exceed
ingly fatiguing position on a scaffold
for two hours. The great painter
worked away needless of his models
discomfort. Finally the victim called
down. Herr Professor, how about
the recess?" n
Certainly, my dear sir. Come down
right away and you shall have Your
recess"
AS the model was descending from
the scaffolding his limbs assumed a
position which was enc for which the
artist had long been looking.
Stop" Mcneil Numbered. Hold.
Keep that while | make a little sketch
of it,
The artist drew vigorously for half
an hour, at the end of which he called
out imperatively, There. that will do
for now. Get up on the scaffold again.
We have had our recess"