The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-05-01
PROSPERITY OF COUNTRY
NOT EQUALED IN DECADE
PREDICTION OF EXPERTS
MNEMOSYNES
PICTURES
The Venus Of Urbino-Titian.

This painting, which the great mas
ter called: Venus" is in reality a
portrait of the Duchess, of Urbino, and
was painted at the request of her nus
band, about 1887. The artist did not
paint this Venus after the model of a
Phryne; nor yet was he inspired with
idea Of producing anything devine or
spiritual. His purpose was to paint
woman at her loveliest. So there is
nothing ethereal in this picture. It's
proportions and it's features are of sur
prising beauty. The tinted and throb-
bling flesh Is pittied against warm
light. Nature, as Titan presents her
in this masterpiece, is charming.
Venus Is not TRANSPORTED into a god
dess of divine beauty; but rather she
is a beautiful mortal, and she is con-
scious and triumphant in her beauty.
So the Venus, Of Urbino, has reigned
| in Italy for three hundred years. No
! one has accused her OF lacking mod
esty. On the contrary, everyone adj
mired her. And yet-she is not half
as modestly beautiful as is the maiden
| in the painting called "a September
Morn" Which delighted all true art
, lists when it was first exhibited in New
York about eight years ago. In this
picture as a background we have the
wide Atlantic beach under the hazy
morning sun of an Indian summer
day; and standing boldly against it,
Is the figure of a young maiden shiv-
! ering a little as she hesitates over her
matutinal swim.
\ That Is the whole, picture. The fig
Fure Of the bather is as beautiful as any
I Greek sculpture of Artemis, and just
as ETHEREAL. There is nothing to shock
the most sensitive eye. And yet when
tho picture was presented there went
up a howl of protest that could be
heard from Dan to Beersheba. These
earring critics took no notice of the
mastery handling of the light scale
nor of the broad plane of the tint
ing. They did not remark the magical
| shading into almost imperceptible hah
tones. All their blue-goggled eyes
could observe was that the bather did
not even wear an Annette Keller
| man." So they set up their howl and
\ then they handed the matter over tc
/ the most noble order Of censors. That
: Is; the society Of learned men an6
/ women, who IN their zeal for the pub
lie purity would kill the glow of gen.
| ius; while they let the red-lights
twinkle on in our streets.
| But September Morn was so wei
advertised by all this that today there
| is hardly a home so destitute thai
some photograph, calender. or adver-
tisement of this prescribed picture
does not hang on its walls. On the
other hand Titian's Venus, having
! never been fortunate enough to bring
| upon It's head a censors scorn, hangs
in forgotten dignity lin the Uffizi gal
| lery. There, it Is admired by artists
| and true picture lovers-However
today, 1t is less we'll known than is
the opprobious September Morn.
I This brings us to the cruX Of the
| problem. Is 1t a good thing for the
| art of a country to have groups OF
pedantic puritans dwelling in her
realm? Most Of the British moral
lists left England when Cromwell died.
They landed on Plymouth Rock; and
from present day conditions, some of
| them must have begun at once to look
after their neighbors morals. Their
| descendants have kept 1t up so per-
| sistently that most of us heartily agree
with Mr.. Hitchcock, when he regrets
| that the Rock did not land on the
Pilgrims"
But If 1T pays to advertise . is 1t
| really such a dreadful misfortune to
| have ones work meet with puritanic
| disapproval? If the mind that creates
work Of art is pure his masterpiece
| must Of necessity be wholesome. After
| all, evil is in the mind that sees it;
and no blue laws, no censors are nee
essary where man and woman are
pure In heart" They shall see
Heaven" then If their hearts are
clean all the pictures of Venus, all the
September Morns, In the world can't
possibly hurt them.