DOI Heft:
No. 195 (June, 1909)
DOI Artikel:The lay figure: on the love of art
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20967#0102
The Lay Figure
THE LAY FIGURE: ON THE
LOVE OF ART.
“ Could you tell me who the people are
that writing men are so fond of describing as art
lovers ? ” asked the Man with the Red Tie. “ Are
there really any art lovers—I mean who love art for
herself alone ? ”
“ Of course there are,” said the Collector.
“ There is a very large number of people who
have a genuine and sincere affection for art, and
prove the depth of their affection by generous
contributions towards the cost of her maintenance.
What plainer evidence of their feelings could you
desire than that ? ”
“What, indeed?” laughed the Critic. “But,
tell me, are these contributions made out of pure
disinterestedness, or do these generous lovers look
for anything in return for their outlay—do they
regard it as a gift or an investment ? ”
“ There you have the whole matter in a single
sentence! ” cried the Man with the Red Tie.
“ That is what I want to know. Do these people
we hear so much about want to support art because
she is the object of their deepest affections, or
simply because they hope and expect to make
something out of her ? Is love or self-interest the
actual inducement ? ”
“ What a silly question to ask,” returned the
Collector. “ Of course love of art is the reason
for the expenditure. No man would spend money
lavishly, with no certain hope of return, except for
an object about which he felt deeply. If there
comes eventually a return for his outlay, he looks
upon that as a fortunate proof of his foresight, but
not by any means as something which he could
exactly calculate.”
“ Then you would have us believe that all the
money you have spent on acquiring works of art
has been laid out simply to prove your affection,”
said the Critic.
“No, I would not,” retorted the Collector. “I
cannot afford to be extravagant for the sake of a
sentiment. I am a business man, and when I
spend money I must see some way of getting it
back. Yet I am also an art lover, because by my
investments, if you like to use that term, I show
a desire to contribute to the support of art and
to encourage her activity. I am a discreet lover,
not a blind and foolish one.”
“ A discreet lover, indeed ! ” sneered the Man
with the Red Tie, “ a lover who lives on the earn-
ings of the object of his affections and profits at
her expense ! ”
80
“ How do I profit at her expense ? ” demanded
the Collector. “ If I buy works of art I
encourage art — that is obvious. Whether I buy
out of mere admiration for her or in a spirit of
frank business is a matter which does not affect
the main principle. 1 am a buyer, anyhow.”
“And being a buyer, you think it does not
matter whether your manner of dealing with art
dignifies or degrades her,” commented the Critic.
“ You have certainly no sentiment.”
“ No, I have to live,” replied the Collector.
“The retort is obvious—I do not see the
necessity,” laughed the Critic. “ But, seriously, I
regard your creed as absolutely pernicious. The
manner of your buying does affect the principle of
art patronage, and it affects it very definitely. A
bad spirit in collecting taints the whole art market;
it cramps and restricts the development of art; it
makes the work of art a mere article of commerce ;
and it subjects the whole of art production to those
arbitrary laws of supply and demand which control
commercial dealing.”
“ Why should art claim exemption from laws
which are universal ? Why should it not be
subject to conditions which govern the whole
system of economics ? ” asked the Collector.
“Why should art be a law unto itself? ”
“ Because it is,” asserted the Critic; “ there is
no other reason. The love of art is an instinct
which is entirely independent of economics, a
passion which suffers no control from expediency
or commercial prudence. It is an instinct quite
sui generis, and one which has its origin deep
down in man’s emotional nature —an instinct, too,
which manifests itself in many subtle ways but not
necessarily in the acquisition of costly works of
art, for its possession is independent of wealth—an
instinct, moreover, quite distinct from that which
animates and prompts the average collector one
meets in the auction room buying this that or the
other thing which he makes a hobby of collecting.
The true art lover is no speculator with an eye
always on the market returns; he is not a dealer
bribing art to do what pays best ; on the contrary,
he is a man of a delicate mind who worships
art because she is pure and uncommercial, and
because she gives him pleasure of a refined and
wholesome kind.”
“Then it looks as if my doubts were justified,
and there are no genuine art lovers,” said the Man
with the Red Tie.
“ I don’t go so far as that, but among collectors
I fear there are not many,” replied the Critic.
The Lay Figure.
THE LAY FIGURE: ON THE
LOVE OF ART.
“ Could you tell me who the people are
that writing men are so fond of describing as art
lovers ? ” asked the Man with the Red Tie. “ Are
there really any art lovers—I mean who love art for
herself alone ? ”
“ Of course there are,” said the Collector.
“ There is a very large number of people who
have a genuine and sincere affection for art, and
prove the depth of their affection by generous
contributions towards the cost of her maintenance.
What plainer evidence of their feelings could you
desire than that ? ”
“What, indeed?” laughed the Critic. “But,
tell me, are these contributions made out of pure
disinterestedness, or do these generous lovers look
for anything in return for their outlay—do they
regard it as a gift or an investment ? ”
“ There you have the whole matter in a single
sentence! ” cried the Man with the Red Tie.
“ That is what I want to know. Do these people
we hear so much about want to support art because
she is the object of their deepest affections, or
simply because they hope and expect to make
something out of her ? Is love or self-interest the
actual inducement ? ”
“ What a silly question to ask,” returned the
Collector. “ Of course love of art is the reason
for the expenditure. No man would spend money
lavishly, with no certain hope of return, except for
an object about which he felt deeply. If there
comes eventually a return for his outlay, he looks
upon that as a fortunate proof of his foresight, but
not by any means as something which he could
exactly calculate.”
“ Then you would have us believe that all the
money you have spent on acquiring works of art
has been laid out simply to prove your affection,”
said the Critic.
“No, I would not,” retorted the Collector. “I
cannot afford to be extravagant for the sake of a
sentiment. I am a business man, and when I
spend money I must see some way of getting it
back. Yet I am also an art lover, because by my
investments, if you like to use that term, I show
a desire to contribute to the support of art and
to encourage her activity. I am a discreet lover,
not a blind and foolish one.”
“ A discreet lover, indeed ! ” sneered the Man
with the Red Tie, “ a lover who lives on the earn-
ings of the object of his affections and profits at
her expense ! ”
80
“ How do I profit at her expense ? ” demanded
the Collector. “ If I buy works of art I
encourage art — that is obvious. Whether I buy
out of mere admiration for her or in a spirit of
frank business is a matter which does not affect
the main principle. 1 am a buyer, anyhow.”
“And being a buyer, you think it does not
matter whether your manner of dealing with art
dignifies or degrades her,” commented the Critic.
“ You have certainly no sentiment.”
“ No, I have to live,” replied the Collector.
“The retort is obvious—I do not see the
necessity,” laughed the Critic. “ But, seriously, I
regard your creed as absolutely pernicious. The
manner of your buying does affect the principle of
art patronage, and it affects it very definitely. A
bad spirit in collecting taints the whole art market;
it cramps and restricts the development of art; it
makes the work of art a mere article of commerce ;
and it subjects the whole of art production to those
arbitrary laws of supply and demand which control
commercial dealing.”
“ Why should art claim exemption from laws
which are universal ? Why should it not be
subject to conditions which govern the whole
system of economics ? ” asked the Collector.
“Why should art be a law unto itself? ”
“ Because it is,” asserted the Critic; “ there is
no other reason. The love of art is an instinct
which is entirely independent of economics, a
passion which suffers no control from expediency
or commercial prudence. It is an instinct quite
sui generis, and one which has its origin deep
down in man’s emotional nature —an instinct, too,
which manifests itself in many subtle ways but not
necessarily in the acquisition of costly works of
art, for its possession is independent of wealth—an
instinct, moreover, quite distinct from that which
animates and prompts the average collector one
meets in the auction room buying this that or the
other thing which he makes a hobby of collecting.
The true art lover is no speculator with an eye
always on the market returns; he is not a dealer
bribing art to do what pays best ; on the contrary,
he is a man of a delicate mind who worships
art because she is pure and uncommercial, and
because she gives him pleasure of a refined and
wholesome kind.”
“Then it looks as if my doubts were justified,
and there are no genuine art lovers,” said the Man
with the Red Tie.
“ I don’t go so far as that, but among collectors
I fear there are not many,” replied the Critic.
The Lay Figure.