The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1912-11-26

II uchto - y
TN yl4y times and the
,.vr,. esen 1xesTs temperature de-
handed And the
times were no more rigorous than
the climate. Observation-Disclosures
antism. Puritanism. has supple
planted the Greek religion Of beauty.
Everybody wears clothes. and such
clothes! Women torture and squeeze
themselves with corsets. They mako
themselves into beings without hips!
All Of which Is frightful and very
distressing to M. Paul Helleu. great
etcher OF France, who 10 now So
3ourning at the Hotel Ritz and max
ing dry-point portraits Of such New
York women-b eautiful and other
wise-as can afford to pay for them.
Needless to say, 1t Is Of all things,
the thing to be etched by NJ. Helleu.
And so his telephone bell rings night
and day. and when saw him yester-
day in his apartment at the Ritz.
the first snowstorm Of the season
seemed to have anticipated itself and
settled in large. permanent paper
fakes about the feet of the tall.
black-bearded Frenchman who 10 the
greatest artist in dry-point.
For ~. Hsllsu, who does not
spsak English, had just disposed OF
. stupsuaous morning mail BY ths
simple process Of tearing mp all the
letters not written In French or
asas-1rsnch. OF the latter there
wsrs many which poor n. Hsllsu
found even more dinicult to de-
cipher than the plain English ones.
But the tsnor OF all miss1vss saved
"when viii you consent 70 do my
Portrait"
Meantime NJ. Helleu was talking to
me about the beauty of woman and the
Puritan restraints OF our times. The ex-
planation OF other climates, other
clothes" does not seem to have occurred
to him.
BEAUTY Is DISTORTED By THE
CORSET.
Beauty ia always the same" Nj. Hell
| leu declared. Woman Is always the
same. She changes only In her inter-
prefers the artists who to-day are
hampered by an Inheritance OF CEN
turtles OF Purltanism. The real beauty.
the greatest beauty. was that OF an
| tiQuity, but that beauty exists to-day.
| only It Is covered UP. always covered
| up. and generally distorted by abom-
| Unable devices like the corset. The
Greek religion OF Beauty permitted the
display of the body, Modern Puritan
ISM conceals. The artist realizes only
the complete beauty OF the professional
model. and / know OF three models In
| Paris as perfect physically a. any Of
| the ancient sculptures.
The display of woman's beauty
| to-day Is limited TO the face. or. on
| occasion, the arms and shoulders. But
beauty continues to exist, only Puritan
ism covers it up"
This 10 Q disconosrttng thought,
especially 1T this time, when We
are about to celebrate the Puritan
festival OF Thanksgiving. Maybe
we ought not to be 80 thankful
after all!
| Feminine beauty reaches its per-
lection at the age of eighteen" NJ.
Helleu continued. The reader of course
understands that NJ Helleu is the
father of a grown-up daughter. They
always are. when they rave about the
perfection of eighteen
/ I, ~. iptarasta IF all those women
who are more than eighteen VEN
tured a mild protest. But NJ Helleu
| was firm.
| What is so beautiful as a young
girl?" he rhapsodied You yourself,
do you not wish you were eighteen?
Why should these slim young girls
squeeze and distort their bodies with
corsets? Look at this!'
| NJ. Helleu seized one among many
prints of mis- etchings OF charming
young women which surrounded US
and held 1t before me.
| See that face. how exquisite! But look
how the waist Is tortured. All. why must
they do it?''
NJ. Heileu laid the picture down with a
sigh.
"Then you don't care for the present
fashionable beauty. the girl with .he
hipless silhouette p / interjected.
"Not at ALL" the artist replied. why
should young girls wear any Of that hor-
rible harness?"
perhaps you are right about young
girls. but without corsets the woman OF
thirty would appear / began.
LET the woman of thirty wear any
thing she likes" n. Helleu exclaimed