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J7cmalc Beauty
With 180 Illustrations.
AMSTERDAM — AUQUST KOSTER.
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C. H. STRATZ, M.D.
THE
FEMALE BEAUTY
WITH 180 ILLUSTRATIONS
AMSTERDAM AUGUST KOSTER







TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page.
Introduction 1
I. The modern conception of beauty • 4
II. The presentation of female beauty in sculpture and painting. 13
III. Female beauty in literature 25
IV. The doctrine of proportions and the canon 33
V. Influence of development, nutrition and mode of life on te body 50 VI. Influence of sex, age and heredity 57
VII. Influence of diseases on the bodily form 05
VIII. Influence of dress on the bodily form 76
IX. Appreciation of the body generally, from the given points of view 84
X. Appreciation of the several parts of the body 99
a. The head 99
b. The trunk, as a whole, breast, abdomen, back 122
G'onnection of the trunk with head and limbs, viz. Female
neck and shoulders, hips and buttocks 158
c. Upper Limbs, Arm, hand 172
d. Lower Limbs, leg, foot 182
XI. Survey of the conditions of normal bodily formation .... 190
XII. Beauty of colour 195
XIII. Beauty of movement 204
XIV. Practical value of the scientific conception of female beauty . 267 XV. Value in art and art-criticism. — Models 289
XVI. Directions for the maintenance and improvement of female beauty 304



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Fig. 1. The Vatican Venus.
, 2. Falguiere's " La Danseuse *.
.3(7 and 36. The Esquiline " Aphrodite diadumene".
, 4. Alma Tadema. "A sculptor's model".
, 5. A Jewish girl, fifteen years old.
, G. Botticelli's Venus.
, 7. Portrait of Jeanne d'Aragon in the Louvre.
, 8. G. Fritsch's Canon, Merkel's normal figure.
„ 9. Female normal figure according to Richer.
, 10. Sarpi, a Javanese girl of about eighteen.
, 11. Female normal figure according to Hay.
, 12. Female normal figure according to Thomson.
13. Sargent's mean figure of the American woman, compared with Fritsch's canon.
, 14. Woman with spinal curvature and fiat foot, but correctly proportioned.
, 15. Scheme of Fig. 14 compared with Fritsch s canon.
, 16. Posterior view of Fig. 14.
, 17. Pasteur's Tangent.
, 18. Head of a human embryo in the sixth week (after the schema
of Gegenbauer and Hackel).
, 19. Head of a young Parisian woman, with beautifully shaped mouth.
, 20. Little girl with genu valgum, after Hoffa.
, 21. Infantilism of a woman, after Meige.
„ 22. Munich girl, 12-J years old.
, 23. Curve of Heauty. "Beauté du diable".
, 24. Girl with manifest signs of having suffered from rachitis.
„ 25. Girl with traces of having suffered from rachitis.
, 26. " Myopathic primitive progressive", after Londe and Meige.



Fig. 27. Young Berlin woman of 26, with powerful developed muscular system.
„ 28. Young Dutchwoman of 20, with phthisical habitus.
„ 29. Javanese girl vvho has never worn a corset.
„ 30. Piaster cast from the corpse of a youthful suicide.
, 31. Young Viennese woman, umnarked by furrow due to tightlacing.
„ 32. Young Austrian woman, with a pronounced furrow due to tightlacing.
, 33. Young woman, with very marked furrow due to tightlacing.
, 34. Young woman with furrows below the knee caused by garters.
, 35. Symmetrical carriage of the body.
, 36. Normal male figure according to Merkel.
, 37. Normal female figure, according to Merkel.
„ 38. Normal male figure from behind after Merkel.
, 39. Normal female figure from behind after Merkel.
, 40. Normal female figure.
, 41. Normal male figure.
, 42. Female and male torso in profile after Thomson.
, 43. Female and male skull modified after Ecker.
, 44. Head of an embryo in the sixth week.
, 45. Skull of a newly borrt child.
„ 46. Skull of a woman with a long, narrow upper jaw.
, 47. Skull of a woman with a short broad upper jaw.
„ 48. Young South-Italian girl of 13.
„ 49. Young Samoan woman.
, 50. Head of Austrian woman.
„ 51. Lady of Valencia.
, 52. Viennese girl of 15, with a dimple in the chin, pure facial oval, a soft mouth, beauty-folds over eyes and abundant head of hair.
„ 53. Japanese girl with Mongolian fold.
, 54. Female head of good proportions and with a well formed eye.
, 55. Head of a Moorish woman of 20 from Algiers.
„ 56. Beautifully formed ear (after Langer).
„ 57. Girl from Schappach.
, 58. Head with classic profile.
, 59. Two Italian women with Greek profile.
, 60. Sevillana.
, 61. Skeleton of the trunk of a young woman of 25, deformed by
tightlacing (after Rüdinger).
, 62 and 63. Alteration of the skeleton of the trunk through tightlacing (after Sommering).
, 64. Muscular system of the female torso, from the front.
„ 65. Muscular system of the female back.



Pig. 66. Posterior view of a man and vvoman (after Ricber) for comparing the distribution of the fat-cushions.
„ 67. Austrian girl of 14, witli a good buiging of the breast towards
the anterior axillary boundary (on the right side).
„ 68. North-German girl of 16 vvith high position of breast.
„ 69. Munich girl of 16 with low position of breast.
„ 70. Well formed breast.
„ 71. Badly formed breast.
„ 72. Fully developed breast of a Bohemian "beaute du diable".
„ 73. Pemale pelvis.
„ 74. Undulating line of the trunk in profile.
, 75. Female body with beautiful boundary lines between trunk and
legs (an Austrian).
„ 76. Round back.
, 77. Drooping of the right slioulder at the beginning of spinal cur-
vature in a young woman of 23, of Dutch-English origin.
, 78. Beautifully modelled back of a Javanese girl.
„ 79. Back of a Parisian woman, ftattened by tightlacing.
„ 80. Back of a young woman of Scheveningen with well-developed fossal.
„ 81. Female head and shoulder in profile.
„ 82. Skin folds over the (right) hip, in a bent attitude of the pelvis.
„ 83. Profile of Fig. 75, with beautiful hips.
„ 84. Rounding off of the hips in a young Viennese woman.
„ 85. Girl of 12, with female forms in course of growtli.
„ 86. Samoan girl (back view).
, 87. First signs of fading.
„ 88. Pointed elbows.
„ 89. Axis of the arm in pronation and supination.
„ 90. Beautifully rounded arm (Munich woman).
, 91. Beautifully moulded arm and shoulder (Swabian woman).
„ 92. Strong, femininely formed arms and hands of a Viennese girl.
„ 93. Viennese girl (Plate I, 3 years later). Perfect moulding of the hands.
, 94. Determination of the straightness of the leg after Mikulicz.
„ 95. Brücke's line.
, 96. Beautifully formed calves and feet.
„ 97. Impressions of the normal foot and of flatfoot, after \ olkmann.
„ 98. Female body on orange back ground with neutral shadow.
„ 99. Female body on violet back ground with neutral shadow.
„ 100. Female body on white back ground.
„ 101. Female body on black back ground.
„ 102. Torso of a girl of 14, with lowered arms.
„ 103. Torso of the same girl, with arms raised.



Fig. 104. Extension of the Vertebral column through tension of the dorsa museles. Bohemian girl of 18.
„ 105. Girl of 14 (Fig. 67) with pelvis tlirust forvvard.
„ 106. Girl of 14, with raised diaphragm and indrawn abdomen.
, 107. Girl of 14, with extended back and indrawn abdomen in profile.
, 108. Extension of trunk supported by extension of leg. Frenchwoman of 24.
„ 109. Young woman of 23, of Dutch-French extraction. , 110. Canon of the young woman of mixed race.
„ 111. The same young woman with the extremest extension of the trunk. „ 112. Flexion of the trunk first stage. Austrian woman of 20. , 113. Flexion of trunk, second stage. Munich girl of 12. , 114. Flexion of trunk. Third stage.
„ 115. Highest stage of Flexion of trunk. Italian girl of 20. „ 116. Red haired Danish woman.
„ 117. The same in flexed posture.
„ 118. Japanese girl of Kobe in her bath.
„ 119a. Bending furrows caused by extension.
, 1196. Bending furrows caused by flexion.
„ 120. Lateral bending furrows caused by flexion and rotation. , 121. The same furrows caused by strong rotation towards the opposite side.
, 122. Pronounced and faulty kinks caused by rotation and flexion
towards the left side.
„ 123. Three Munich girls of 6, 8 and 10 "standing at ease „ 124. Standing at ease on the entire sole.
„ 125. Erect bearing with raising of the heel.
, 126. Symmetrical attitude of the body.
„ 127. Posture of the hips after Richer.
„ 128. Young woman of 20 from the Rhine, in an easy attitude of the hips.
„ 129. Proportions of the young Rhine woman.
„ 130. Two girls of 16 in hip attitudes.
„ 131. Sitting posture with upper part of body inclined and arms lowered.
„ 132. Sitting posture with upper part of body extended and arms raised.
„ 133. Girl of 13, sitting straddle legs.
„ 134. Half-sitting, half-lying position.
, 135. Extended dorsal position. Italian woman of 20.
„ 136. Flexed dorsal position. Austrian woman of 20.
„ 137. Female model in upright attitude with lowered arms. , 138. The same with raised arms.



Pig. 139. The same in extended dorsal position.
„ 140. The same in tiexed lateral position.
„ 141. Italian girl of 13, ï-ecumbent attitude, back view.
„ 142. Austrian girl of 18, recumbent attitude, back view.
„ 143. Scheme of human gait, according to Richer.
„ 144 — 149. Female gait on bare feet I—VI.
„ 150. Viennese girl of 18 walking, from behind.
„ 151. The same with faulty carriage.
„ 152. Girl going upstairs. Back view.
„ 153—158. Girl running I—VI.
„ 159. Measurement of the Viennese girl in head lengths.
„ 160. Measurement of the Viennese girl by Fritsch s modulus.
„ 161. Viennese girl of 17, with perfectlv normal proportions.
„ 162. The same from behind.
„ 163. The same in profile.
„ 164. Proportions of the Viennese girl of 17.
„ 165. Young woman of 22, from Scheveningen.
„ 166. The same stripped.
„ 167. Canon of the young Scheveningen woman.
, 168. Berlin girl of 17, after a photograph by G. Fritsch.
„ 169. The same from behind.
„ 170. Margarethe's proportions compared with Fritscb's canon.
„ 171. Dioptric outline sketch in head lengths.
„ 172. Gustav Eberlein's girl.
„ 173. The original of Fig. 172 photographed two months earlier.
„ 174. Munich model of 17, with Russian greyhound.
„ 175. Berlin model of 20.
„ 176. Posterior aspect of Fig. 175.
, 177. Proportions of Fig. 175.
„ 178. The model Fig. 175 postures by Eberlein.
„ 179. The same postured for the posterior aspect.
„ 180. Indian "gurita".



Introduction.
* Des Weibes Leib is ein Gedicht, Das Gott der Herr gesehrieben Ins grosse Stamnibuch der Natur, Als ihn der Geist getrieben."
Heine.
hoüsasds of poets, painters and sculptors have, from time immemorial, glorified the beauty of' women in word and design, and even serious savants have not hesitated to put forward theories about the ideal of womanly beauty; and the public admire and worship their works. But people forget that almighty Nature, in her inexhaustible strength, produces every dav women who are far more beautiful than anything ever produced by art and science, and vvhom most of them pass by heedlessly, because no connaisseur says to them: "Look! there is beauty " itself in flesh and blood."
" Therefore, look diligently at Nature," writes Albrecht Dürer (1), at the beginning of the sixteenth century; " guide yourself by her
* and do not depart from her, thinking that you will discover " anything better by yourself; for you will be deceived. For in
* truth Art lies hid in Nature: he who can pluck Art from Nature, " possesses Art. If you master Art, it will save you from many " mistakes in your work. But the more your work is in conformity "with life, the better it appears. And this is true; therefore, never " imagine that you can or wish to do anything better than God " has put it in the power of bis creature; for your ability is " po werless bef ore God's creating."
(1) Proportionslehre. Tart 111. 1523.
1



Thanks to photography and improvements in the technique of the other reproducing arts, we are to-day in a position to record with scientific accuracy the outward forms, at any rate, of living beauty.
Briicke (1) was the first to make use of that medium, and he
was followed by Thomson (2).
Richer (3), who has published artistic drawings prepared by himself' after the living model, has also secured scientific records of models by means of photography.
Now, in these and all similar works published within recent years, that treat of female beauty in a more or less scientific fashion, I have been impressed by two facts, or, rather perhaps, defects.
First of all, those works do not deal with the beautiful body as such, but only in relation to the imitations of it in art. Secondly, whilst all anatomical facts are carefullv treated, pathological facts, the bodily changes caused by illnesses and wrong ways of living, are quite superficially dealt with.
I have attempted a new wav of judging human beauty by regarding it not only from the standpoint of the artist and anatomist, but also from that of the doctor, by making my observations, not by means of pictures and corpses, but as much as possible by the help of the living body, which I have considered to be of itself the main point of studv, and not to be merelv an object of artistic representation. The reason why I have limited myself to the female body is that, being a women's doctor, l had not sufficiënt male material at my disposal.
I have been helped in my investigations by the works of many writers, especially antliropologists, and after fifteen years work, I have come to the conclusion that we can reach a standard, an ideal of beauty, in a negative way, i. e. by excluding morbid influences and all deforniities of the body that are caused by defective clothing, hereditv, unsuitable nourishment and improper ways
(1) Schönheit und Fehler der menschlichen Gestal t. 1890.
(2) Handbook of Anatomy for Art Students. 1896.
(3) Anatomie a r t i s t i q u e. 1890.



of living. The standard may indeed, vary a great deal in individual cases, but it is nevertheless always subject to immutable laws; for perfect beauty and perfect health coincide.
In this way alone can we attain to a standard firmly based on facts, which we can apply independently of individual taste, at best an uncertain quantity.
But 1 believe there is, besides this, a certain practical value in my investigations, since it foliows from them that we are able, especially in the case of growing youth, to increase and esalt bodily health and beauty at one and the saiue time.
Still, before I proceed to consider from this new standpoint the known facts, multiplied by my own observations, I must, for the sake of better understanding, roughly sketch the different ways in which attempts have been made, up till now, to reach the ideal of beauty and, particularly, the modern conception of beauty, and to throw critical light on the circumstances that have contributed to its formation.



I.
Tbc modern Conccption of Beauty.
The modern European man knows almost nothing about the living female body. He only sees a woman's face and hands, and, on festal occasions, her arms and shoulders. He only sees one, or quite a few, female bodies in a nude state, and then generally under circumstances that make a sober, impartial verdict impossible or next to impossible; for love blinds a man.
He is certainlv able to form an independent opinion about the face and hands, but all he knows about the rest of the body consists in the combined impression of memories of representations of it in sculpture: observations of the living woman play a quite subordinate part with him. Accordingly the modern European's ideal of beauty is mainly based on impressions produced by the medium of art. The artist and the doctor are exceptions to this rule.
Goethe, the great psychologist, has excellently described the immediate impression produced by the tirst view of a naked woman s bodv on the spectator. (1)
" She then brought me to a small, neatly-furnished room; a " clean carpet covered the floor, in a kind of niche stood a very " clean bed, at the liead of the bed was a toilet-table with a * looking-glass, and, at the foot, a gueridon with a three" branched candlestick, in which beautiful bright candles were
(]) Briefe aus der Schweiz. First Part. Cotta 4, p. 469.



" burning. On the toilet—table two lights were «ilso burning. A " fire, which had gone out, had warmed the room througli and
* through. The old woman offered me a chair opposite the bed
* by the mantelpiece and left the room.
* Not long afterwards a tall, splendidly-formed, beautiful woman " came out of the opposite door: her clothing did not difter from " the ordinary. She seemed not to notice me, threw off her black " cloak and sat down before the toilet-table. She removed a large " hood, which had covered her face, from her head; beautiful. " regular features showed themselves, brown hair rolled down her " shoulders in large and abundant tresses. She began to undress.
* What a wonderful feeling it was as one piece of clothing after " another was taken off, and Nature, released from its alien covering, " appeared strange to me, and, I might say, made almost an awful
* impression on me.
* Ah, my friend, is it not the same thing with our opinions, our " prejudices, institutions, laws and fantasies? Do we not become k frightened when one of those foreign, irrelevant, untrue environ-
* ments is removed from us and any part of our true nature is to
* be shown in its nudity? We shudder, we are ashamed.
" Let me confess to you. then, that I was bewildered by the " splendid body, when the last covering feil away. W hat do we
* see in women ? What kind of women please us, and how is it, "we confuse all our conceptions of them? A small boot looks " pretty, and we exclaimWhat a pretty little foot! A narrow " bodice has something elegant about it, and we praise the beau" tiful figure.
" I describe my reflections to you, because I cannot represent to " you in words the series of ravishing pictures, which the beautiful
* girl gave me the opportunity of seeing with all modesty and
* decency. All her movements followed one the other so naturally, ' and vet they seemed to be so studied. Delightful was she whilst ' she undressed, beautiful, splendidlv beautiful, when the last covering ' feil. She stood, as Minerva might have stood in the presence 'of Paris."
The feeling of awe, which Goethe so correctlv indicates, a mixture
" appeared strange to me, and, I might say, made almost an awful



of' fright at the unaccustoraed sight and a certain sensual excitement, is shared bv the doctor in the case of his first female patiënt, by the artist in that of' his first female model. lt disappears, as soon as the artist sees onlv the beautiful, the doctor the human in woman; and it very rapidly dies away when a man becomes
accustomed to see the nude.
Nowadays, when even the representatives of the German people have not shrunk from banishing the image of truth from their midst, because it was naked, (1) many are readily disposed to identifv nakedness with immoralitv. But nothing is farther from the truth. It is not nakedness that is immoral, it is the eyes of the spectator. He who only sees the woman in the nude body, who does not get bevond the first sensual inipression, and Iets himself be dominated by it, is immoral and transfers his own imperfections to the object he contemplates.
Dress lias nothing to do with moralitv, but only with decency, with fashion. A nudity, which is prescribed by fashion, is never
regarded as immoral.
Anvbodv, who has happened to live among peoples who are entirelv or partiallv naked, soon becomes aware that clotliing stands in no relation to modesty, and he very soon notices in himself the broadening of his narrow European ideas.
Von den Steinen, (2) excellently describes his American impressions in this connection.
When I was travelling in the interior of Java in 1890, I met at Singaparna one morning large crowds of women, voung and old, stripped to the waist, who were going to niarket. The first impression was the feeling of awe described by Goethe, which was occasioned by the sight of female nudity in so great a mass in an environment that was new to me. But soon, in spite of many a truly classicallv and beautifullv formed woman s torso, I had a feeling of repulsion in the presence of the many ugly ones, which were exhibited in perfect innocence; and I suddenly understood
(1) Before the opening of the new Reichstag building. A. D. 1895.
(2) Unter den Naturvölkern Centralbrasiliens, 1894.



why most women prefer to cover themselves, if fasliion allows it.
Curious are the perversions of the feeling of decency under the pressure of circumstances. A European girl blushes, if she is surprised in her night-dress, but she exhibits herself décolletée at every ball. A woman in a dark-coloured dress feels extremely uncomfortable among ball dresses, just as a man in a morningcoat does among company in evening dress.
In Batavia, where all the ladies put their naked feet into small gold-embroidered shoes, it was considered highly improper when a lady appeared in an hotel who had covered her legs with blue satin stockings, and by the very covering attracted attention to that part of her body.
A naked child does not blush, when you look at it, but it does when caught telling a lie. A well-brought-up young lady does not easily blush when she is caught in a lie, but does so when a part of her body is bared. Education, so-called, has transferred the feeling of shame from the soul to the body.
I think it superfluous to add to the examples l have given, (1) and believe I am right in inferring that our feeling of morality is innate, whilst 011 the other hand our feeling of decency is altogether dependent on the habits and customs prevalent in our environment.
We in Europe unconsciously condenin the nude in Nature, whilst in art we liold the representation of it to be legitimate, and continually have it before our eyes. Therefore, as we do not know Nature, we applv to the beauty of the female body the standard which has become familiar to us in works of art. But again, we do not take it into account that the presentation of woman in art is subject to a certain fashion, a tradition, which has nothing to do with the conception of beauty as such, and cannot straiglitway be transferred to actual life.
We find the Venus of Milo beautiful as she is. But if she were dressed according to the fashion of today, we should consider lier figure shocking; for her waist would considerably increase in size owing to the clothes.
(1) See Ploss-Bartels, Das Weib. 1897. 1, pp. 359 sq.



If, then, on the one liand, we consider the Venus of Milo beautiful, and on the other hand a small waist, we must infer from it that all slim women, when unclothed, are ugly, since thev do not possess the perfection of the Venus.
Nevertheless, this is not the case, as experience shows. The further conclusion accordingly is, that, even if any one knows the Venus of Milo by heart, he is not in a position, nor is he justified in drawing any conclusion therefrom as to the body of a living clothed woman.
But, further, we unconsciously take the old Greek fashions as a Standard for judging modern works of art, and also for judging lif'e in cases in which it confronts us in the nude.
I will give only two examples.
In the whole of classical art, so far as we know it, there are but two sculptures of a nude man with a moustache, namely " The Dying Gaul" and the Gaul in the Aria and Paetus Group. All the other figures are represented either with a beard or without a beard. It was not the fashion, either among the Greeks or among the Romans, to wear a moustache; in the statues I have named, it is precisely the barbarian who is thereby characterized. In spite of the fact that we see thousands of moustaches evervday of our lives, we hardly ever find them in art, except in portrait-statues. When we meet with moustaches in a man who is at the same time undressed, our feelings are estranged. We see, not the nude, but the undressed man, because—the old Greek fashion condemned moustaches.
The presentation of the nude female body is another exaniple. It is alwavs exhibited without any hair on the body. Was this because it is ugly? No, but because it was customary among the old Greeks and Romans, just as it is even now among all Oriental peoples, for women to artificially remove all hair from their body. This is proved by the well-known verses in Martial II and Ovid's Ars Amatoria. There is a further reference to it in the 103rd. song of Bilitis, (1) where it is spoken of as a peculiarity of the
(1) Louys, Les chansons de Bilitis, 1897. Heim, Bilitis' s a m m tliche Lieder, 1894. Many people regard the chansons de Bilitis



priestesses of Astarte that: —"They never pluck their hairs out, in " order that the goddess's dark triangle may brand their abdomen, * like a teinple."
Although the fashion of depilation disappeared from amongst us hundreds of years ago, it has been preserved in Art and thereby transferred to the ideal of beauty among modern men.
How uncritically not only the individual man, but also the whole of so-called public opinion is influenced bv outward appearance, may be best seen by a comparison between Fig. I and Fig. 2.
Fig. 1 is a reproduction of the Yatican Venus which has been freed from its tin casing (1). Fig. 2 is Falguières well-known portrait-statue of Cléo de Mérode, who is celebrated as one of the most beautiful vvomen living.
The statue of Venus answers every requirement we may demand of a normal female body.—In the case of the dancer one remarks the artificially compressed state of the body below the breasts, owing to dress, the faulty position of the breasts, the faulty position of the knees, and the too heavy anklejoint (2).
The modern conception of beauty is, therefore, derived from a knowledge of the head, hands and arms which is made possible by daily experience; and, as for the rest of the body, from a collective conception due to art-reproduction of the nude woman.
The general opinion as to female beauty is, consequently, not an expert but an indirect one, which creates for itself false and unnatural ideals, through being led astray, on the one hand, by a represent-
as a hoax. I refrain from expressing an opinion: buth whether genuine or spurious, they indisputably testify to the author's accurate knowledge of the data of antiquity.
(1) It is Michaelis' great merit that the statue became know to the public in this forra. In the Kensington Museum there is a plaster-cast after the original, and there is another piaster cast in Munich. Cf. Bruckmann, Denkmaler griechischer und römischer Plastik, and Springer s Kunstgeschichte, Vol. I. 4th. ed., 1895.—Professor W. Michaelis writes to me: "There is yet another copy, which is a very much more beautiful " piece of workmanship, in the Vatican Magazines, a bronze-cast of which is "in Paris."
(2) Cf. L. Pfeiffer, Angewandte Anatomie. 1899.



Fig. 1. The Vatican Venus.
ation of' the body which is not true to Nature, and, on the other hand, by corsets, boots and dress.
All that I have hitherto said cliiefly refers to beauty of form.



Fig. 2. Falguière's "La Danseuse".
That it is much more difficult to have an objective opinion in relation to beauty of colour, everyone knows who has devoted anv time to the study of the theory of colour and the function ot the



human eve: nobody knows it better than women themselves, who instinctively know hovv to lieighten their charms and conceal their blemishes by a proper choice of colours. It is still more difficult to analyse the beauty of movements, most of which are hidden to us by dress.
But we must make yet a further limitation. Even the small amount of the female body, that can be seen daily, is not looked at with sufficiënt attention, because the eyes of the spectators are not practised. Let anybody try to picture to himself the features, the hair, the eyes and the hands of persons whom he meets every day. In the great majority of cases he vvill not be able to remember the colour of the hair and eyes, and the shape of the nose and mouth, unless they have left a deep impression on him on account of unusual development.
Even the ears, which contribute a good deal to facial expression, are generally very superficially observed; whilst Mantegazza (1) tells us, with respect to the shape of the hands, that even painters did not know whether or not their second finger was longer than their fourth.
A quite superficial notice is, in fact, generally taken even of the head, face, and hand. although we are every day able to observe them in considerable numbers; about the remaining parts of the body only a practised observer can draw certain inferences from gait and carriage; but most people are content with indefinite ideas that are derived from a usually superficial contemplation of works of art.
In order then properly to understand this element in the modern standpoint, it is our duty to analyse the presentation of female beauty in sculpture and painting.
(1) Physiologie des W e i b e s. German translation by Teuscher, 1894, p. 52.



II.
The Presentation of Female Beauty in Sculpture and Painting.
The flourishing period of Greek art has exercised so powerful an influence on tbe modern ideal of beauty, that even accidents of the then fashion have been unconsciously transmitted into it.
The art of sculpture indisputably reached its highest point in the time of Phidias, Polycletus and Praxiteles, and it is a question whether it will ever again approach the sarne perfection. It is, therefore, quite natural that the old Greek art should have appealed to all later art epochs as an unsurpassable model.
Apart from Greek art, vvhich was followed by a slumber lasting for centuries, we have here to deal especially with the Renaissance. The Oriental elements, which have to be taken into consideration in the history of art, have nothing to do with the form of the female body. Nor has the Japanese influence in art been of such a nature as to deserve mention in this connection.
The old Greek art took its subjects directly from life. Neither inclement vveather nor bodily defects caused the ancient inhabitants of Greece to conceal their beautiful forms by dress, and thus the primary condition of creative art was fulfilled: namely, that the artist should be able to make a daily study and comparison of' the different forms of the naked body in its most perfect moulding.
By continuous practice of the eye the artist in those tirnes was able to create an ideal image for himself, for the realization of which he had at his disposal the finest models in the greatest profusion.
Moreover, the public of those times saw the nude body everv day and were acquainted with it, so that much more could be expected of artistic productions; and such productions were far



more expertly appreciated than is to-day the case with a public that is ignorant of the human body.
Richer (1) has recently shovvn, with extreme acuteness, how much superior the artistic perception of the old Greek aitists was to that of all their successors.
When he speaks about the representation of movement and calls attention to the fact that we, thanks to modern science, are able, by means of instantaneous photography, to record pictorially every single phase of movement, he points out that most of the later artists, following an unconscious tradition, never represented figures walking or running, but always only gliding or falling figures: whilst all the Greek figures, from the Tyrannicides to the Dancing Faun, proved to be accurate reproductions of positions which were perfectly true to nature.
Besides their wonderfully keen artistic perception, besides the large number of pre-eminently beautiful models, the Greeks had at their disposal yet a third expedient for ensuring the fidelity to nature of their representations, namely: plaster-casts from life. According to Pliny, (2) Lysicrates was the first to introducé
this method into sculpture.
Anatoniy was unknovvn to the Greek artists until the Alexandrine school, as Chéreau (3) and Langer (4) have couvincingly proved.
Langer points out that the best of the Greek sculptures are those whose subjects are in repose, " whose muscular niechanism is hidden." " On the other hand, in those works of sculpture that represent movement, faults, arising from ignorance, may often be taken exception to. Sometimes the muscular protuberances are incorrectlv grouped, at others they are handled confusedly and without distinction, like folds of the skin and protuberances of the
(1) Dialogue suri'artetiascienc e.—L a nouvelle revue. Vol. 107 et S. 19. Année. La revue de 1'art ancien et moderne, 1897, fase. 3 & 4.
(2) Quoted by Langer.
(3) Dictionnaire encyclopédique des sciences médicales.
(4) Anatomie der ausseren For men des nienschlichen Körpers, 1884, p. 30. sq.



skeleton. What excites undivided and justifiable wonder in such sculpture, is the movement, and this lies much rather in the arrangement of the bodily parts than in the muscling."
In other words, Langer means to say, that, in spite of subordinate anatoinical errors, the general impression of the moving figures is always true to nature: Kicher, as I have already observed, lias proved their truth to nature by direct verification with instantaneous photographs.
Now, as moving figures are the most difficult to represent, because it is impossible to fix a model in the desired position, this similarity of opinion among such different judges is a fresh proof of the extraordinary keenness of observation of the ancient artists. (1)
But, although the Masters of antiquity vvere able, in spite of their ignorance of anatomy, to produce the most splendid works owing to their artistically-trained perception and the large number of beautiful models at their disposal, yet the aina of their art was by no means an absolute fidelitv to nature in the representation of the human form.
We should not forget, that Art among the Greeks was at the service of their religion, which prescribed the subjects for most of the artistic representations, although certainly in greater variety than did the Cbristian religion. The Greek artist, who represented the gods, was therewith compelled to idealise his tigure, and, in so far, to deviate from Nature.
That the model played a by no means subordinate part in the transaction is shown by the example of Praxiteles, who, out of gratitude, set up the nude portrait-statue of Phryne in the temple at Thespiae near the Aphrodite; and, contrariwise, this instance proves that it was not a question with the artist of fidelity to nature in the representation even of the most beautiful model; for otherwise,
(1) It has struck me that the Japanese artists also observe much more keenly than our artists and ourselves are accustomed to. In European pictures one always sees birds in the act of hovering, never in that of flying. Japanese representations of flying birds, which at first sight appear unnatural to us, are proved, on comparison with instantaneous photographs, to be perfectly true to nature.



this act of dedication of the great artist, the juxtaposition of Goddess and Woman, would not be intelligible.
What the Greek artist had to arrivé at was. to treat the model suitably to the traditions of the divine tigure that was to be represented, to generalise the individual to a certain extent, and to combine the divine type with the greatest possible fidelity to nature.
And not onlv did the religious purpose of the work of art compel the artist to deviate from nature, but so also did the place in which it was destined to stand.
If a figure standing on a high pedestal be reproduced according to natural conditions, it has, to the spectator, an appearance of being thickset and is uncomely, a fact which we can verify any day, when
we look up at people from
1-ig. 3a. Aphrodite diadumene irom the
Ksquiline. below. In such cases, tne
artist has to unnaturallv
and disproportionatelv increase the longtudinal measurements at the expense of the latitudinal. If we look at the statue from the front, all the nearer parts must seem comparativelv reduced in size, and all the more distant parts enlarged; we can easilv convince ourselves



of the fact, by noticing the mistakes that occur in phütographs whichhave been taken from a wrong position.
Lastly, a statue which is to be set up in a temple lias to harmonise architecturally witli its surroundings, and is thus dependent on a whole number of laws which may affect the form in the most various ways.
The consideration of all those points required great practice and experience, it required the development of a certain systeni atisation of the relations of the several parts of the body, of a doctrine of proportion which, as might be expected and as was confirmed bynumerousmeasurements in later times, by no nieans always corresponds to the proportions of living beings.
Sn flip pfprnal fmmnn
. . i'ig. 3b. "Aphrodite diadumene" from
beauty lives in all ancient the Esquiline.
statues, but is nevertheless
influenced by tradition, locality and the character of the personalitv to be represented.
I will give but one example. Fig. 3 represents the " Aphrodite diadumene " from the Esquiline. Fig. 4 Alma Tadema's well known
o



" Sculptor's Model." Fig. 5 a fifteen-year-old Jewisli girl who is fairlv normally built.
In the first case the legs, which are somewhat too long in proportion to the trunk, show tliat the figure was calculated for a pedestal: the upper part of the body which is bent somewhat backwards is, compared with the abdominal and lumbar region which comes forward, heavily elaborated, the head clearly represents the archaic type and is comparatively larger than is the case in other antique statues. The general impression of the whole figure is tliat of a young girl, half-child, half-woman, in her first bloom, a bud which is not yet quite opened. Alma Tadema, who tried to give in his
„ . „ , , , picture the model of the Fig. 4. Alma Tadema. A Sculptor s
model". Esquiline Yenus, has leng-
thened the whole figure and removed all the convention from it; the proportions of the breast and abdomen are ratlier tliose of a grown-up woman, the navel is lower, the breasts are more strongly developed, the head is smaller; the girl is older and slimmer, and yet her muscular development is not so good and her thorax is not so beautifully



formed as in the statue. But in the young Jewess we find approximately the same forms as in the statue, witli the difference that their perfection is due rather to fat than to muscular development. The relations between the head and the rest of the body agree rather with the statue than with Tadema's picture.
Apart from the charm of the picture, we must confess that the Greek master could never have made his statue from Tadema's model: the comparison with the living girl teaches us that he had some such half-developed person to work from, but one with a broader chest and stronger muscular development, one of those compact, thoroughly healthy Backfische, who, after they reach their full
length, grow into the most Fig. 5. A fifteen-year-old Jewish girl. beautiful wornen. And the
size of the head, which is excessive and opposed to the tradition, points to the youthful age of the statue, which, on tliat account, I should not tliink to be that of Aphrodite; if, indeed, it is a goddess at all, it is a very youthtul Psyche.
On 14th August 1485, a marble sarcophagus was dug up by



some workmen in the Via Appia, which contained the enibalmed corpse of a young girl. She was of wonderful beauty and so well-preserved that she had the appearance of living. (1) So great was the concourse of people to see it that Pope Innocent YI11 had the body secretly taken away and buried, because he feared the effect on his saintly flock of tliis heathen competitor.
"But," adds Vachon (2), " it was all very well for the Pope " to bury that woman's flesh, half-living, deep in the earth, to 4 throw that ephemeral flower into the gutter—that flower which * had opened again to the rays of the sun, after a night of several " centuries: antiquity was revived for ever in the marvellous re-birth " of Art, which had preserved from destruction and the grave the " secret of grace and beauty."
On the ruins of Classical Art rose the building of the Renaissance: the relics of former greatness becaine a revelation for a new Spring-time of Art.
But not a single one of its works bas reached, much less exceeded, the classical beauty, because the richest source of ancient inspiration was sealed to Modern Art: namely, the daily sight of the naked body in thousands of positions, and the sharpening of artistic observation thereby.
The best of the later Masters clearly perceived this, and tried to make up for the deficiency by substituting for the intuitive imitation of beautiful forms a scientific, anatomical study of their foundation.
Duval and Bical (3) have criticallv and carefully collected, and illustrated with admirable reproductions, the anatomical studies which most of the artists pursued in association with doctors. Among the artists are Leonardo da Vinei, Michel Angelo, Rapliael. Bandinelli, Cellini, Titian, Carracci, Kubens, Rembrandt, Dürer and many others.
But if, on the one hand, this extension of their knowledge made
(1)Lettre de Bartholomaeus Fontius aFrancescoEllac h e 11 e, translated and analysed by Hubert Janitscheck. L'art, vol IV.
(2) La femme dans l'art. 1891, p. 194.
(3) L' anatomie des Maitres. Histoire de 1'anatomie plastique. 1890.



it possible for the great artists to improve on faulty models in their works, on the other hand, there was the danger that many of thero, seduced by sucli knowledge, would put more into their figures than was really to be seen, would in some measure, outstrip Nature, without making her more beautiful. Even great Masters did not escape (1).
If they tried to ward ofï their danger by faithfully imitating Nature, there was the possibility that they might unconsciously transfer defects of the model into their works, and that the more, since they were not all fortunate enough to light on perfectly beautiful models.
Not only the artist, however, but also the public, was unaccustomed to a daily view of the nude, and that is the reason why both the artist and the public became less fastidious and were contented with a lesser standard of beauty.
The individuality of the artist vanishes more and more into the background, and whole generations may be blinded, by great improvements in technique or conception, to intentional and unintentional faults of another kind.
It is not my purpose to give here a detailed criticism of the Art and Art-history of the Renaissance; it is sufficiënt for my aim to show by an example, how even connaisseurs may be led to erroneous conceptions through the prevailing current of opinion.
I will take, for instance, the Florentine Venus of Sandro Botticelli, which in recent times has been awarded the throne of beauty by the Pre-Raphaelites with unanimous admiration.
Brücke has already called attention to some anatomical faults in it (l c. pp. 25, 62, 81). Ullman, one of the best of Botticelli's biographers, also admits the anatomical errors to be such. He quotes the verses of Poliziano, which were probablv the basis of the picture, he debates thoroughly and in detail the possibility that Simonetta Catanea, the beloved of Guiliano di Medici, served as model for the Venus, and decides in the negative, because the only
(IJ Cf. Henke, Die Menschen des Michel Angelo im Vergleich m i t der A n t i k e. Kostock. 1892.



authentic portrait of Simonetta does not altogether tally with the face of the Venus (1).
Compare with this Ernst Steinmann's lucubration: (2)
" Frau Schönheit i9t's, Von deren Lobgesang Noch zittert Herz und Hand, Die du so oft erkannt Am (liegend goldnen Haar, Am flatternden Gewand."
" In these verses frem a hymn to beauty by Rossetti the poetic magie, that clings to the birth of foam-born Aphrodite, is perhaps for the first time expressed in words.
The billows,
gently splashing, lapround the tossing bark, on the edcfe of which stands the fascinating goddess of love, covering her breast and lap with a chaste gesture. An endless abundance of golden hair flows ai'ound the Heavenly One
This figure has
rightly been esteemed to be the most beautiful
Fig. 6. Venus of Botticelli.
picture of Venus in later art: it can, in fact, only be compared
(1) Ullman, Botticelli, p. 102.
(2) Knackfuss, Künstlermonographien, 24, 1897.



with the sleeping Venus of Giorgione, in which the purity of soul, that has taken up its abode in the chaste form of a perfectly beautiful woman, similarly delights us. This picture appeals to us like a saying from the golden age which Marsilio Ficino has described in his letters with such glowing colours. In' its presence the spectator feels as though he were an uninvited witness of one of the holy mysteries, which Nature has hidden in the great book of her wonders. With such reality is this incident reproduced, so vivid is the effect of the maidenly charm of the breathing goddess " etc., etc.
The whole of this expectoration, from which I have omitted everything not directly hearing on the Venus, is made yet more superfluous by the picture accompanying it.
Should Art-history be written like that? I think not.
I should like to contrast this tirade with the following facts.
Sandro Botticelli's figure of Venus is filled with a tender, sad charm, which makes a deep impression. If you look closely, you find in the long, narrow throat, the sloping shoulders, the narrow sunken chest, the low position of the breasts and the smallness of the distance between them caused by it, the well-stamped type of the consumptive, which, both in life and in pictorial representation, excites the deep sympathy of the spectator by its sorrowful beauty.
When we consider that Simonetta Catanea was bom in 1453, and, after marrying Marco Vespucci in 1468, died of consumption in 1476, when she was not yet 23, it is more than probable that, as some writers believe, she reallv stood as model for Botticelli's Venus, and that the artist, from motives that are easy to understand, only altered the face a little. (1)
Botticelli therefore, made his ideal out of the type of a beautiful consumptive woman, without knowing it. His admirers and followers also did not know it, and, striving after his ideal, they gave their healthy
(1) In the portrait of Simonetta by Pollajuolo in the Duc d'Aumale's collection, the upper part of her body, which is nude as far as beneath her breasts, shows, in spite of its great beauty, every sign of consumption. (Engraving by de Mare in the Gazette des Beaux Arts, XXII).



models the appearance of consumption and so created unreal hybrid figures. The conflict is especiallv clear in Burne-Jones, one of the greatest Pre-Raphaelites. In his Artstudies there are healthy human beings (1), in his paintings they have all become more or less consumptive. This single e.xample may suffice to show hovv, in the later Art-works, Nature and Art are involved in the most complicated relations. In order to be just to an artist, you must not only analyse with extreme care his works, hut also his life and the times in which he lived, and you will, even then, seldom succeed in distilling therefrom a passable ideal of beauty.
The more we are able to find in actual life figures similar to subjects in works of Art, the more probable it is that the artist confined himself entirely to beauty in the life; and in this respect the nude female figures of Titian, Giorgione, Palma Vecchio and Van Dyck stand first. Rembrandt and Rubens are their equals in truth to nature, but neither of them had such beautiful models.
We may measure the influence of the great artists on the modern ideal of beauty, by asking which are the works that are most widely known ?
Tliey are indisputably the Yenus of Milo, the Venus of Medici, the Sixtine Madonna, (2) and the Madonna della sedia.
We thus see that the classical art is even nowadays triumphant in regard to the female body, and that, of all later artists, Raphael was the only one who knew how to exalt the charming face of his Madonnas to a generally acknowledged ideal. And, in another way, we also see that * the great majority " are a stern and just judge and know very well how to distinguish the truly beautiful from the mean and mediocre. In Art, as in history, the best and least prejudiced connaisseur is posterity.
(1) Cf. Studio, vol VII. p. 198 sq: and vol. XIV, p. 38.
(2) Jelinek (Monographie: Madonna Sixtina, 1899) has with good reason doubted the genuineness of the Dresden Sixtina. If he is right, it only proves afresh the great power of the original, which could produce so profound an impression even in a faulty copy.



m.
Female Beauty in Literature.
The representation of female beauty in literature may be viewed both from the artistic and from the purely scientific standpoint.
The artistic standpoint has been dealt with bv Lessing in his "Laocoon", in which he defines the limits of what can be represented in painting and poetry (1).
" Homer savs nothing about Helen except that she had white arms and beautiful hair. He paints her beauty by describing the impression she makes on the assembled old Trojans. Zeuxis painted her: his picture consisted solelv in the figure of Helen, who stood nude. "
According to Lessing's theory the poet should substit.ute the look and the smile for the eyes and the mouth, should describe movements instead of slender limbs, and, instead of bodily beauty, the impression it produces. If the poet wishes to represent the beautiful points of a body, he should not describe tliem themselves, but the act of undressing which reveals them, or the impression they make on the spectator.
Goethe's description of a girl undressing, which I have already given, may serve as a pattern. He says nothing about her body, except that the moulding of her face was beautiful and regular, and that her brown hair feil down her shoulders in long, thick tresses; no other parts of the body are mentioned. That they are beautiful, we divine from the impression they made on the wonderstruck spectator whilst she undressed. A painter would have had to represent, not the astonished vouth, but, like /euxis, the unclothed beauty.
Another interesting example, which is treated of by two poets, is afforded by the well-known story of beautiful Ginevra.
In Boccaccio, (2) Ambrogiuolo steps out of his chest in Ginevra's
(1) Lessing, Gesammelte Werke, Cotta, 1886, II, p. 6*20 sq.
(2) D e c a m e r o n, 2nd day, Ninth story.



bed chamber and takes stock of the room. " Then he approached the bed, and savv that the lady and her young servant were in a deep sleep. He drew the covering off her body, and perceived that she was as beautiful naked as when dressed. He sought for a mark on her body, and at last found under her left breast a small mole, on which were a few golden hairs. And although, as he gazed at her beauty, an irresistible desire came upon him to kiss her and to enjoy her love, he covered her up again carefully, because he feared her anger".
Shakespeare has dealt with the same scene in Cymbeline(l).
Imogen sleeps. Iachimo comes from thetrunk.
Iachimo. " Cytherea,
How bravely thou becoms't tby bed! fresh lily!
And whiter than the sheets! That I might touch!
But kiss; one kiss!—Rubies unparagon'd,
How dearly they do't!—'Tis her breathing that
Perfumes the chamber thus: the flame o' the taper
Bows toward her; and would under-peep her lids,
To see th' enclosèd lights, now canopied
Under these windows, white and azure, lac'd
With blue of heaven's own tinct.—But my design's
To note the chamber: I will write all down :—
Such and such pictures;—there the window;—such
Th' adornment of her bed;—the arras, figures,
Why, such and such;—and the contents o' the story,—
Ah, but some natural notes about her body,
Above ten thousand meaner movables
Would testify, t'enrich mine inventory:—
O sleep, thou ape of death, lie dull upon her!
And be her sense but as a monument,
Thus in a chapel lying!—Come off, come otf;—
[Taking off her bracelet]
" On her left breast
A mole cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops I' the bottom of a cowslip; here's a voucher Stronger than ever law could make* 
(1) Act. II, Scene 2.



Boccaccio describes exclusively the impression of beauty. The reader can only guess from the golden hairs about the mole that Ginevra was blonde. Shakespeare only mentions the * fresh lily" colour, the " rubies unparagon'd" of the mouth and the bluish shade of the closed eyelids.
Both of them are even more sparing than Goethe in the description of the body, but they depict all the more strongly the passions aroused by the sight of the naked beauty.
In the poems of Bilitis an undressing-scene is handled with much skill, and a different artifice is used.
The song in question (132) may be freely rendered as follows: —
Blumentanz.
" Anthis, die lydische Tanzerin,
Ist in sieben Schleier gehüllt.
Sie wirft den gel ben Schleier hin,
Dem schwartzes Gelock enlquillt.
Der rosige Schleier gleitet vom Mund,
Der w eis se enthüllet die Arme zur Stund.
Den rothen Schleier knüpfet sie ab,
Der den sprossenden Busen entblösst,
Der grüne sinkt von den Hüften herab,
Von den Schultern der blaue, gelost.
Doch den durchsichtig'n Schleier der Lenden.
Bedeckt sie mit schamhaften Handen.
" Man bittet. Sie wirft das Haupt zurück ;
Doch wie nun die Floten erschallen,
Zerreisst sie den Schleier Stück für Stück,
Lasst ihn, den letzten, fallen.
Dann, singend zum Tanze, pfiücket sie ab Die Blüthen des Leibes, die Gott ihr gab.
'Was ist meine knospende Rose? Die Brust.
'Was sind meine Veilchen'? Die Augen voll Lust.
'Die rothe Nelke? Mein küssender Mund;
'Die LilieV Mein Leib, so blühend und rund.
'O pfiücket, bevor sie verwelken,
' Die Rosen, die Veilchen, die Nelken.' "
Here too, nothing is said of the several parts of the body, except



that the hair is black and the breasts are small. That the eyes are blue and the mouth red is shown by the comparison with the violet and the carnation- The rest of the body is mentioned, not described.
I am convinced that Lessing's artistic standpoint is the correct one, and I cannot help concluding with him that the best literary works chiefly affect the reader's imagination and are, therefore, the least calculated to give us a picture which we can directly compare with living reality ; the aim of the poet, when he praises beauty, is that every reader should imagine to himself he sees his own ladv-love or the woman whose bodily charms have made the deepest impression on him.
And now we must turn altogether aside from the artistic point of view.
If we place ourselves at the purely scientific standpoint, entirely disregard literary worth, and limit ourselves to the establishing of facts, many quite insigiiificant poetic productions have a certain value for our purpose, in so far as, on the one hand, they mirror the standard of female beauty that obtained in the vvriter's time, and as on the other, they are a criterion for a certain direction of taste in the conception of beauty. Research of that kind has a higher value in that, as experience shows, the fashion, that dominates poetry, alwavs similarly dominates painting and sculpture at the same time, so that we can discover the ideal of beauty at any given period botli in word and in picture.
When Martial declares that the female breast should be such "ut capiat nostra tegatque manus", we may infer that in his time large breasts were not esteemed beautiful. We also find small breasts represented in all classical statues of women.
We should never consider a girl with a regular swan's-neck and a regular wasp-waist beautiful: but such pictures teach us that a long neck and a narrow middle were once held to be attributes of the ideal beauty, and in a certain sense they are still. A glance at family portraits from the first half of last century, or at Gavarni's beautiful drawings teaches us further, that painting and sculpture obey the same conception.



Houdoy (1), in a masterly work, has scientifically analised in this manner the ideal of beauty from the twelfth till the sixteenth century.
Vachon (2), Ploss-Bartels (3), Mantegazza (4), Schaeffer (5), and many others have followed him.
There is sufficiënt material in the art and literature of all peoples to build up an ideal of beaty of the civilised world, with all the variations of it that have been occasioned by epoch and trend of taste, even as Houdoy has done it for the later Middle Ages.
But such a work would go far beyond the scope of this book, so I refer the reader to the authors I have quoted, and content myself with asserting that, in literature as in sculpture and painting, the ideal of beauty rests on observation of life, which always undergoes changes that are determined by fashion and artistic conception.
That literary works may influence the prevailing conception of female beauty, is shown by the example of Rousseau, who by his E m i 1 e caused many of his feinale contemporaries to suckle their own children, and so brought it into fashion that full breasts were regarded as beautiful.
Of the thousand descriptions of female beauty that occur in literature, I will give only one example which I take from Houdoy's book. I make this selection, firstly, because there is a portrait of the original in existence to compare with it, secondly, because there is in it a Standard for the judgment of female beauty, which we have not considered up till now, and which imperceptibly leads to the further development of our theme.
It is Niphus' description of Giovanna d'Aragona, whose portrait, painted by Raphael or more probably by Giulio Romano (6), hangs in the Louvre in Paris.
(1)La beauté des femmes dans la littérature et dans 1'art du XITe au XVIe siècle, 1876.
(2) La femme dans 1' a r t.
(3) Das weibliche Schönheitsideal in Das Weib, etc.
(4) Physiologie des Weibes, etc.
(5) Die Fr au in der venezianischen Malerei. Bruckmann, 1899.
(6) The Gazette des bèaux arts, XXII, 465 points to historical docu-



Houdoy gives Niphus' original Latin text side by side witli an excellent French translation.
* The exalted Joanna is a proof that true beauty exists only in Nature; for she unites a perfect beauty of body and mind.
" Her soul combines moral heroic greatness with gentleness (and in the latter lies precisely beauty of soul), so that she appears to be not of earthly but of heavenly descent.
" The forms of her body are of such pre-eminent beauty, that even Zeuxis, who, in order to represent Helen, was compelled to unite the different charms of the most lovely maidens of Croton, would have been content with Joanna for his sole model, if he had had the honour of beholding her and recognising lier excellence.
" Her figure is of medium stature, straight and delicate, adorned with the most marvellously well-proportioned limbs; she seems neither fat nor bony, but has a youthful fullness (succulenta); the colour of her skin is not pale, but plays from white to red; her long hair glistens like gold. Her ears are small and round, corresponding to the mouth (1). Small dark-brown liairs, not too thicklv clustered, arch in a half-circle tovvards the brows; her bluisli eyes shine brighter than any stars beneath the black, straight eye-lashes, and spread charm and joy around; the level and beautifully-formed nose descends straight from between the eyebrows; the little valley, that separates the nose from the upper lip, is of divine form. The small, sweetly-smiling mouth attracts kisses more than a magnet does iron; soft lips, honey-sweet and coral-red, surround it. The teeth are small, shilling like ivory and beautifully regular; her breath is the most precious perfume.
* Her god-like voice has nothing human in it. A pretty dimple adorns the chin: on her cheeks plays the colour of the rose and of snow. The outline of her countenance is round, inclining to the masculine.
" The straight, long neck rears itself full and white between the
ments as a reason why Raphael could never have seen Giovanna, and only superintended Romano's work.
(1) According to Agrippa, the ears combined should constitute a eircle, which should correspond to the size of the open mouth.



glistening, well-arched shouldei-s whicli, in a broad surface, allow no bones to protrude. The moderately large breasts are equally rounded and resemble peaches, whose aroma they exhale.
" The white hands are outwardly like snow, inwardly like ivory, and exactly as long as the face; the full, round fingers are not too short and have fine, arched nails of delicate tint.
" The form of the upper part of the body is in general that of an inverted, rather flat pear, whose lower end is on the average narrow and round, and whose broad upper end is attached in wonderful lines and surfaces to the root of the neck.
" The abdomen is flatly moulded and in good proportion to the hips and loins. The thighs are strong and perfectly round: the thigh stands to the calf, the calf to the upper arm, in the correct proportion of three to two. (1)
" The arms are formed in divine proportion to the other parts of the body.
" The feet are delicate and end in marvellously shaped toes.
" The regularity of her build and her beauty are such that she may justly be reckoned among the immortal.
" As, then, the spiritual properties, the cliarm and the beauty of this princess are so great, it may be inferred not only that the truly beautiful exists nowhere but in Nature, but also that nothing surpasses the human body in beauty."
Better and quicker than this description does the more discreet portrait of Jeanne d'Aragon in the Louvre convince us of her bodily charms (Fig. 7.) YVhether old Niphus was able to study them practically as well as theoretically, is a secondary matter. (2)
The main point is that he strives to persuade us of Jeanne's beauty not merely by an enumeration and description of the several parts of her body, but also by a comparison with a certain Standard, by the proportions of the parts among themselves.
(1) That is, the circumference of the thigh=one and a half times the circumference of the calf; and the circumference of the calf=one and a half times the circumference of the upper arm.
(2) Guyon (Diverses 1 e f o n s. III) points out that Niphus had, as doctor, frequent opportunities of seeing the body of the princess.



He therewitli initiates the transition from the conception of the poet to that of the philosopher, who desires not only to evoke
Fig. 7. Portrait of Jeanne d'Aragon in the Louvre.
and represent an impression, but also to give the grounds for it.
The theoretical considerations, vvhich gentlemen without knowledge of life have invented in their studies, have very little value for us. When Schopenhauer talks of the " short, narrow-



shouldered, broad-hipped, and short-legged sexwhich is called beautiful, it only shows that his experiences of it were few and unhappy, and therefore he could not study it without bias.
There has been no lack of attempts to divide the various forms of female beauty systematically: artists, philosophers and aesthetes have competed together in the endeavour.
A. Walker (1) distinguishes three forms: locomotive, nutritive and mental beauty, and suggests as the type for the first Diana, for the second Venus, for the third Minerva.
Lairesse (2) writes: "The beauty of a nude woman's portrait consists therein that, in the first place, the masses of the limbs are well-formed, secondly, that she has a beautiful, free and easy movement, and lastly a healthy and fresli colour."
Others again differentiate between beauty which is noble or pretty, moral or sensiial, blonde or brunette. None of such divisions goes bevond the attempt and none of them is universally recognised.
The onlv positive fact that has been evolved from all these attempts is the striving to discover a certain normality in form, in the relations of single parts to one another in respect of size, in fine, the doctrine of proportions.
IV.
The Doctrine of Proportions and the Canon.
We have already seen that Niphus partly judged the beauty of Joanna of Aragon according to certain relations: the ears taken together are ecjual in size to the mouth, the hand accurately answers the Jength of the face, and the thighs, calt and uppei arm are in a ratio of 3 to 2 etc.
(1)Analysis and c 1 a s s i f i c a t i o n of beauty in woman.
London, 1852.
(2) Groot schilderboek. Amsterdam, 1716.
3



Since the gray age of the Egyptians up to our own <kys, many eminent men have, like Niphus, endeavoured to discover the normal Standard of proportions of the human body.
In some instances it was exclusively with the modest and praiseworthy object of helping the artist in the imitation of human figures, whilst others were so far led astray, as to construct a theory for the determination ot the conception of beauty out of an appaient regularity of the measurements taken by them.
Not till quite recent times, were there a few isolated attempts to arrivé scientifically at the average measure out of a large number of measurements, and thereby to determine, not indeed the ideal of beauty, but the normal figure.
Ch. Blanc's (1) careful investigations have shown that the ancient Egyptians took, as their basis of measurement, the length of the middle finger, which, according to them, is contained nineteen times
in the length of the body.
A figure, accurately constructed according to these rules, is called a canon: the basis of measurement determining the figure is
called the modulus.
It appears that the Egyptian canon was partly transmitted to Greek Art, but that there were also other canons in existence at the same time, in which the modulus was the length of the hand foot or head.
The best known modulus is that of Polycletus, which many believe is to be observed in the " Doryphorus" at Naples (2).
Vitruvius, Galen and Pliny give information about Polycletus s canon. According to it, the face is a tenth, the head an eighth of the total height, the head and neck a sixth and equal to the length of the foot. The face falls into three parts: from the cliin to the lower edge of the nose, from there to the upper edge oi the nose, and from there to the beginning of the hair (3).
It is for archaeologists and historians to settle whether the
(1) Gazette des beaux-arts, VII.
(2) Guillaume considers it a copy, since the original was probably of bronze.
(3) Cf. L. von Sybel. Weltgeschichte der Kunst, 1888, p. 193.



canon of Polycletus is thus rightly transmitted (1). We are here only interested in the fact that these measurements have lasted to our time as the standfird of human beauty, although, as Langer (2) has pointed out, they are not to be found in numerous classical statues.
When interest in the human body awoke again with the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinei, Albrecht Dürer and Agrippa were the first to occupy themselves with the proportions of the human body: the first two took exclusively the standpoint of the artist with a view to easier representation, the last of the three built up a whole system by which not only the human microcosm, but also all geometrical figures, and even the star-world, were to be systematised (3).
Anybody who is interested in the historical development of the
(1) Professor Michaelis writes to me: " We archaeologists take it for granted that Polycletus, too, derived his canon of proportion by selection out of a large number of measurements of well-made youths. That his canon is to be found in the Neapolitan * Doryphorus," is not merely the opinion of several persons, but is quite generalij* accepted since Friedrich's authentication in 1863; still it is equally sure that the Neapolitan examples, like all others preserved to us, are Roman copies in niarble of Polycletus's original. The normal measurements referred to by you are only handed down in Vitruvius, and without Polycletus's name, and it has always been thought doubtful whether they are really Polycletus's proportions. Professor A. Kalkmann of' Berlin has attributed them in his treatise, Die Proportionen des Gesichtes in der griechischen Kunst, Berlin, 1893, p. 42 sq. to the younger artist Euphranor, who deliberately altered the Polycletan proportions, as Pliny 35, 128 affirms. The proportions, both of the body taken as a whole, and those of the face, show altogether the widest variations in the course of Greek Art-development, variations which are only partly connected with a subsequent progressive evolution, and for the most part represent individual conceptions of different leading artists, or prevailing tendencies. No archaeologist would regard those Vitruvian measurements as generally applicable to the whole of Greek art. Leonardo starts from them, but, owing to his, no doubt, very numerous measurements, arrivés at results that deviate in part from them. 1 dealt with the subject in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, 1883."
(2) L. c. p. 60.
(3) Agrippa de philosophia occulta, 1531.



different systems will find a fairly full review and account of them in Zeising's elaborate work (1).
Seventv-eight philosophers, artists, anatomists and physiologists are there enumerated, to whom must be added Agrippa. who is not mentioned by Zeising, and Zeising himself vvith his doctrine of "the golden cut"; so that up to 1854 we have no less than eighty writers, each of whom believes in his own individual idea.
Most of them lix the proportions according to lengths of the liead and face: Hay (2), bases his system on the musical chord, and determines the distance of the several parts of the body according to thirds, fifths, octaves etc. Zeising applies the doctrine of the golden cut, according to which a line is so divided that the whole is related to the larger part, as the larger part to the smaller; thus, according to him, the height of the body is to the height of the navel, as the height of the navel is to the distance from the navel to the crown of the head.
As Langer (3) rightly remarks, tliis division lias no value, if only for the reason that the height of the navel is very variable; still, he admits Zeising's division is of use in determining the height of the waist of a clothed female figure.
It mav be here mentioned that Cenino Cennini (4) is the only one among all the writers, who altogether denies women any correct bodily proportion, and therefore concerns himself only with the male body.
The first purely scientifïc work on proportions begins with Quetelet (5), who constructed a mean proportion out of measurements made on thirty young men.
(1) Neue Lehre von den Proportionen des menschlichen K ö r p e r s, 1854.
(2) The geometrie beauty of the human figure deflned, 1851.
(3) L. c. p. 56.
(4) Lübke, Italienische Malerei, quoted in Langer, p. 62: not mentioned in Zeising.
(5) Des proportions du corps humain. Bulletin de 1'académie royale des sciences, lettres et beaus-arts de Belg i q u e, XV.



He thus entered upon the modern niethod, which is being more and more developed by the anthropologists, of framing an average standard of man, varving according to race, age and sex, by a comparison of the largest possible number of single measurements. Topinard (1) has attempted to establish such normal measurements for the European out of measurements within his reach, but perceives a great difficulty in the circumstance that it is impossible, in Europe, to gather together any considerable number of individuals of absolutely pure race.
It is well known that Bertillon has quite recently endeavoured to establish, in the same way, the identity of criminals.
In Germany, Schadow has recorded, in his well-known Polyklet, a whole series of detailed observations in careful measurements and excellent drawings; a splendid mass of material which G. Fritsch (2) has lately estimated at its due value.
In America, Sargent (3) lias measured more than 2,000 young men and women of the age of 20 and has prepared two wax-models according to the average measurements, which were exhibited in Chicago. Richer (4) has constructed a canon of the proportions of the human body in the same way as Sargent, fixed it according to head-lengths and worked it out as a statue. Unfortunately he has only dealt with the female body in an incidental way.
A comparison of the results obtained by the various investigators is made difficult by the fact, that they have not hitherto pursued a uniform metliod that holds good universally.
Although, tlierefore, we are not yet able to record permanent normal proportions for the human body, yet we have great satisfaction in affirming that, on the whole, in spite of the different methods, the final results of conscientious observers coincide, and further that the artistic ideal-figure coincides with the scientific normal figure.
In order to show this, the graphic method, which has been
(1) Quoted in Richer, Anatomie artistique, 1890, p. 258.
(2) Fritsch-Harless, Die Gestalt des Menschen, 1899.
(3) Scribner's Magazine, 1893, Vol XIV, No. 79.
(4) Richer, Canon des proportions du corps humain, 1893.



advocated and improved by G. Fritsch (1), for the determination of human proportions, and which was inaugurated by C. Schmidt (2), and C. Carus (3) may be used as a basis.
Fig. 8 shows Merkel's (4) normal female figure, which is drawn to the scale of one-tenth of the natural size, corresponding to a total length of 155 cm. Next it are the measurements for the figure constructed according to Fritsch's canon, and for the sake of clearness they have been transferred to the figure itself in dotted lines.
The length ofthe vertebral column serves as the modulus of the Schmidt-Fritsch canon, the length being measured from the lower edge of the nose to the upper edge of the symphysis in a straightly-extended position, ab. This chief modulus suffices to determine all the other measurements.
It is first of all divided into four equal parts, ae, ef, fN, and Nb; of these submoduli (= '/* modulus) one, ac, is added in the prolongation of ab, in order to determine the height of the crown; another submodulus at e, eS, and eS,, determines the distance of the shoulder joints SS,, whilst a half-submodulus at b, b H, and bH,, gives the distance of the hipjoints HH1.
If either shoulder-joint be connected with the opposite hip-joint, the lines of connection, SH, and S,H cut one another at N in the navel.
If lines be drawn through or from the shoulder-joints, their prolongations Sad,, and S,ad, taken together with the parallels cd and cd,, drawn from c, form a square, whose diagonal dd, gives the breadth of the skull.
A parallel line to aS drawn from e cuts the line SH, at the point ofthe nipple B to which the left nippleB, corresponds.
The length of the extremities can now be determined as follows: —
(1) Verhandlungen der Berlin. Anthropologischen Ges el 1 sc haft, 16 Feb., 1895. Die Gestalt des M e n s c h e n, p. 136 sq.
(2) Proportionsschliissel. Stuttgart, 1849.
(3) Die Proportionslehre der menschlichen Gestalt, 1859.
(4) Handbuch der topographischen Anatomie, 1896, 11,p. 256.



Fig. 8. G. Fritsch's canon, and Merkel's nonnal figures. Upper Extremity:
SBi right shoulder-joint to left nipple = SE upper arm.
BiN left nipple to navel = EM lower arm.
NH nipple to hip-joint = MP hand.
Lower Extremity:
HBi right hip-joint to left nipple = HK thigh.
jHi hip-joint to nipple on the same side = KF leg.
The height of the foot is about half a submodulus.
The total length of the body ch = lO'/s to lO'/a submoduli.



Fritsch takes the height of the foot as = the upper section of the line eB, which is equivalent to between '/» and '/s submodulus. I arrived at the same result by taking away five further submoduli = bg and one third Um = gh on the middle line, and therewith at the same time determined the length of the body ch.
Merkel does not explain hovv he arrived at the construction of his female normal figure; at any rate he lias not used the Fritsch method, or he would undoubtedly have mentioned it.
It is the more extraordinary that he reaches almost the same result as Fritsch by another way, for we see from the figure that Merkel's figure coincides with the Fritsch measurements even to small variations of a few millimetres.
(The measurements of the arm agree exactly, if the shoulder be imagined as somewhat lowered.)
Froriep has added to his Anatomie für Künstler(l) 8 tables of proportions, which are partially drawn up after Liharzik, but are also calculated according to heads. The eiglitli table represents a grown-up vvoman of 25. If it be compared with the Fritsch construction, it will be found that in this case, too, the measurements coincide almost completely; but in Froriep the breadth of the skull is two cm. more and the nipples are lower.
This doublé agreement speaks very conclusively in favour of the utiüty of the Fritsch canon, which, apart from its extremely simple construction, has the further advantage, that a portion of the measurement can be determined by simple calculation, without construction.
For instance, if the modulus == 60, the submodulus = 15: accordingly SSi (Fig. 8) = 30, HH, = 15, ddi - 15 ch = 155. For approximate comparison with a calculation by heads, it may be borne in mind that the distance between the nipples BBi is about = the length of the head. If the total length be reckoned at 7','» heads, the ratio of a head to a submodulus is as 7 '/a to 1013 or, say, as 3 to 4; in the case in question, 3 heads (BBi - 20) of 20 = 4 submoduli of 15 = 60.
Richer (2) has determined the proportions exclusively by heads. His female normal figure (Fig. 9) agrees very closely with the
(1) 2nd. edition, 1890.
(2) Anatomie artistique, 1890, pp. 169 and 252.



Fig. 9. Kieners normal temale rig. ftarpi, Javanese girl
figure. about 18.
Fritsch canon fl), with two sliglit variations : The height of the crown is a little less in Richer and the length of the fore-arm is rather more (in the drawing the difference appears still greater,
(1) This agreement is the more extraordinary, because Richer, as he told me, drew his female figure from inemory in the proportions he held to be correct.



because the upper points of measurement are higher than the somewhat lovvered sboulder-joints.)
Anyhow, Richer has arrived at almost the same normal figure as Fritsch, Merkel, and Froriep, though by a different way.
In order to compare the canon with the relations in a living person I have selected a vvell-made Javanese girl, Sarpi by name, whose outlines are drawn exactly according to the photograph (Fig. 10).
Owing to the forward-bent position of the head, the upper end of the modulus a b is somewhat higher than the lower edge of the nose. With the exception of the head being too large in proportion to the body, a peculiarity of the Javanese race, the measurements coincide to a millimetre. The breasts are raised upwards and somewhat outwards together with the arms, and fall, tvhen the arms are lowered, exactly into the points BBi (Fig. 8), as I was able to convince myself from another photograph.
Langer (1) has put forward a linear scheme derived from direct measurements from life. As he foliows Sehmidt and Fritsch in making the joints and the bony structure the basis of his measurements, his measurements coincide entirely with the above so far as the trunk is concerned.
As regards the extremities, Langer, differing from Fritsch, finds that the upper and the fore-arm, the tliigh and the lower leg, are equally long (2), but the final results are the same, in spite of these differences, which depend solely on different ideas as to the points of measurement.
Langer has measured, besides living liuman beings, a considerable iiumber of antique statues, and has discovered that the figures of the Parthenon agree particularly closely with the normal relations of living persons.
(1) 1. c. p. 48.
(2) This difference is explained by Langer's method of measuring. He calculates the length of the lower leg from the lower edge of the bone of the fibula: but this is much lower than the joint; he calculates the fore-arm from the axis of the elbowjoint, which lies in the bone of the upper arm, to the middle of the double-jointed wrist, whereby the fore-arm is increased in size by a few centimetres at the expense of the upper arm and hand.



Our considerations have, therefore, so far, taught us the following.
Bv accurate comparative measurements of well-made individuals, one reaches normal measurements that are ever recurring, that, 011 the whole, in spite of different methods of measurement, are ever the same. Of all the methods applied, those give the most trustworthy results which start from unchanging points, that are determined by the bone-structure and the joints. Of all these methods that of Schmidt and Fritsch deserves preference, because it combines a simple construction and convenient means of calculation with accuracy of measuring, and is therefore particularly suited to be a criterion for the judgment of any given figures.
We have seen that these bodily relations can be found both in other canons and in normal living examples, as well as in model representations of the ideal human figure. We shall now attempt to critically appreciate the experiments that have been made, with a view to the discovery of defects in any given figure.
As an example, I select, first of all, the above-mentioned normal female figure of Hay, which is constructed according to musical accords (Fig. 11).
If we apply to it the Fritsch modulus a b and construct the necessary lines, it is first of all manifest that the legs are much too short, and that that fault is mainly to be attributed to an excessive shortening of the lower leg, a fault which is very frequently found in the working classes.
The apparent regularity of the figure is nevertheless preserved by a second defect, namely, by a niarked diminishing of the size of the head, which is supposed to be a peculiaritv of patrician descent.
So, to a certain extent, the plebeian legs are saved by an aristocratie head, and the result is a figure, which may perhaps appear once in a life time, but is certainly no ideal.
Still more pronounced are the defects in Thomson's normal figure (Fig. 12).
The lower legs are yet shorter, the head appears to be still more disproportionate, because the face is kept bigger in proportion to the head than in Hay's figure.



Fig. 11. Normal female figure after Hay.
Saxon women. If we apply Fritsch's canon to Sargent's (p. 45) average American woman (Fig. 13) it is apparent that she too is short in the legs, though perhaps less so than her normal English sisters.
It is striking that these so-called normal figures coincide in the shortness of the legs with Sargent's raean figure, which was mentioned above, and which was also taken from among Anglo-
Fig. 12. Norman Female figure after Thom.son.



Fig. 13. Mean figure of the American wornan by Sargent, compared with Fritsch's canon.
Now, as it actually happens that, among English women of the better classes, beautiful forms with long legs are frequent, it must be conceded that Hay and Thomson did not select for their norm



Fig. 14. Woman with spinal curvature and flat foot but correctly proportioned.
fectly correctly proportioned body may
the best representatives of English female beauty.
Further instances occur in the above-mentioned works by Fritsch.
We have thus arrived at a fairly precise and scientific method of deterrnining the correct proportions of the body in general. That this is also true in detail, we shall see later on, when we come to consider the single parts of the body.
The only difficulty in the application of this method lies in the accessibility of the points of measurenient, which are partly covered by muscles and fat, especially in wellnourished bodies. But even this obstacle may, if necessary, be overcome by the proper use of the Röntgen rays.
Yet, although we are now, on the one hand, in a position to select a whole number of bodies as more or less beautiful or uglv according to the laws of the doctrine of proportion, on the other hand, a pernevertheless be conceived



Fig. 15. Scheme of Fig. 14 couipared with Fritsch's canon.
as ugly. One lias but to remember that, in spite of the most apalling leanness, in spite of' the most unaesthetic corpulence, a body mav vet be quite correctly built so far as its longitudinal measurements are concerned.
A remarkable example of the tact that, in spite of correct proportions, numerous defects may still be present is aftorded by



Figs. 14, 15 and 16, two of which are photographs of one of Eberlein's models from in front (Fig. 14) and from behind, and the other one the canon as applied to her (Fig. 15).
Even in the anterior aspect it is noticeable, that the right hip is manifestlv much higher than the left, that the bending of the waist towards the arm on the right side is much more marked than on the left. This circumstance becomes much more prominent in the back view, and it can at the same time be perceived, from the median line of the back, that the cause of the irregularity is a pronounced spinal curvature.
And as, owing to the lateral bending, the length of the trunk is greatly reduced, it might be imagined that,
Fig. 16. Back view of Fig. 14. . .
conditions being in
other respects normal, the legs would be particularly long. Such is not, however, the case. We may convince ourselves, by means of Fritsch's canon, that they are perfectly in proportion to the



upper part of the body. The reason is that the legs are likewise too short, in consequence of flat foot, which is recognisable in the frontal aspect by the absence of the arch at the minor margin of the foot.
So the trunk and legs are both shortened, by spinal curvature in the first case, by flat foot in the other, and the coincidence of the two defects restores the correctness of the proportions.
Corect proportion is indeed only one of various factors that condition beauty, and the other factors will be discussed later on.
For the sake of completeness, I will here mention yet another standard for the determining of normal proportions in profile. I refer to " Pasteur's tangent" (Fig. 17). This method of measuring, which was invented by my friend .T. D. Pasteur in Batavia, consists in applying a perpendicular to the posterior outline of a body placed in sharp profile, when the perpendicular should touch the outline at a point of the buttocks. When conditions are perfectly normal, the point of contact (Fig. 17c) should divide the perpendicular ab into two equal parts, so that a c=c b.
We may readily corroborate the accuracy of this observation, by comparison with the examples of the normal canons that have been given. The inference to be drawn from
Pasteur's observation is, that the centre of the body lies in a horizontal plane, which, when proportions are normal, cuts the most prominent convexity of the nates.
4



V.
Influcncc of Development, Nutrition and Mode of Live on tbc Body.
Even before birth there may be influences that niav effectively disturb the normal course of development. He who plunges into the mysteries of the historv of development is always astonished anew at the wonderful power of Nature, who is able to produce her finest creature, Man, out of microscopie atoms, and, with few exceptions, brilliantly accomplishes her task.
Hiickel has written the historv of the development of man (1) in a generally intelligible shape.
Just as in the course of thousands of years the worms grew out of the original mud, the amphibia out of the worms, and out of the latter, after immeasurable ages, mankind, so everv human individual goes through in a few months the great process of development from the cell to the worm, and from the worm to the developed child.
The slightest disturbance in that process of development may nullify the liarmonious growth of the body.
Let us consider, for instance, the evolution of the human face.
In the sixth week of its existence the head of the embryo consists in an evenly soft mass (Fig. 18). From the forehead spring a rather broad middle nasal process and two lateral ones (nm, nln) which include the olfactorv fossae between them. Outside them are the places for the eyes on either side. Under them, the two processes of the upper-jaw go inwards and downards (ms, nis). These five processes form together the upper limit ot the cavity of the mouth, which is detïned underneath by the alreadv united arches of the lower-jaw (mi). Further in is the place for the tongue (g).
(1) A n t h r o p o g e n i e, lst. edit., Leipzig, 1874, Engelmann.



In the further course of evolution, the five upper processes become more and more altered, till at last the two processes of the upperjaw form, with a part of the middle nasal process, the upper-lip. When this union does not take place completely, there remains a smaller or greater degree of "hare-lip".
When there is a uniformly-good development of all parts the upper-lip should not onlv be perfectly united. but the dimple between
the nose and the mouth should also be clearly and sharply defined, and the red lips should converge in the centre in a convex bow bending slightly downwards.
The beautiful mouth of a young Parisian girl, who is reproduced in Fig. 19, fully answers these requirements.
There are numerous transition stages between the two extremes. It is well known that too short upper-lips are frequently found in English people, whilst negroes, on the other hand. often have upper-lips which exceed the normal degree of development in their lateral portions. The latter peculiarity in generally a result of a strong development of the upper-jaw in especial, and therefore appears together with very prominent cheek-bones.
How far heredity may atleet the features of the face, lias already been treated.
Just as with the face, deviations from the normal in other parts of the body may often be referred to troubles of embryonic development ; it is even agreed that a great part of the illnesses that conie later in life, as, for instance, most tumours, are brought in geruis into the world with the cliild (Cohnheim's theory of cancer).
If we apply a severe Standard, we must require the development of the body to be perfectly synimetrical, i.e. one half of the body must be the exact counterpart of the other. But hardly a living
Fig. 18. Head of a human embryo in its sixth week.
(After Gegenbauer and Hackel). n m middle, n l lateral nasal processes, m s processes of the upper jaw, g tongue, oo eyes, m i processes of the lower jaw.



bein.Lf could satisfv tliis condition: we must therefore, in order to be just to Nature, regard a slight asymnietry as an individual variation, but a pronounced asymnietry as a defect.
Trifling defects of development may at tirst escape even the keenest testing, and not becoine noticeable before the body is in full process of growth.
Fig. 1'J. HeaJ ot' a young Parisian girl witli tinely-eut mouth.
Thus we can scarcely perceive in the vague features ot a cliilcl s face anv traces of bis father's aquiline nose, which is nevertheless alreadv there in germ. In a fainily I know, which seems to be endowed by Nature exclusively witli left legs, tliis fainily peculiarity of gait and carriage only appeared in later years in the children.
When we consider the further development from child to woman, the influence of nutrition and mode of life coine so mucli into the



Fig. 20. Girl with knock knees (g e 11 u v a 1 g u m).



foreground. tliat it is scarcely possible to clearly distinguish the different influences in single cases.
In many cases, also, divergent views are held as to whether certain abnormalities sliould be considered as defects of development or as consequences of illness.
Thus Mikulicz bas asserted, as a result of deep research, tliat all forms of genu valgum, which are recognisable bv the inward curvature of the bones in the knee-joint (Fig. 15), result from " English illness".
Hoffa and others assert on the contrary, that such curvature in the knee-joint mav very easilv be caused, without rachitis, bv a comparatively excessive burdening of the weak bones in the act of standing. In the iirst case, therefore, knock-knees are put down to the influence of illness. in the second to improper mode of life in the years of development.
In the same way, Kupprecht refers all scolioses (curvatures of the spinal column) to rachitis, whilst Hoffa attributes such cases also to purelv static influences (e. g. the position of school children when writing), especially in cases of " abnormal softness " of the bones.
When mentioning rachitis, Vierordt points out that want of air and light and bad nourishment are of capital importance: so that here again we have the effect of nutrition on the condition of sickness.
However that may be, we may, for our purposes, draw the general conclusion from all these opposite opinions, that, besides illnesses, both nourishment and mode of life may have an after-influence on the development of the body.
In normal development, the body is full in form in the first years of life; at about the sixth year it begins to be graduallv longer and slimmer, and to assume more and more the secondary sexual characters, which, as a rule, appear earlier in girls than in boys. The body only reaches its full development after the age of pubertv is reached.
All harmful influences have, of course, a much more injurious effect in the period of development when the organs are still delicate, than later in life.
Nourishing food, rich in albumen, is a necessity for the growing



body. Meat, eggs and niilk are the best and most useful aliraents: in the poorer classes, their place is generally taken by less useful food, sucli as bread, potatoes and vegetables. A mucli greater quantity of them is necessary in order to get the same value as food. Even when the amount of nourishment is sufficiënt in the case of such less useful food, more work is required from the body; but, as a rule, not only is the quality, but also the quantity of food, insufficiënt to satisfy all requirements.
We can see that when, in similar conditions, a diet of meat and milk is the chief one, all the tissues of the body, and, above all, the muscles, become stronger and stiti'er, the adipose tissue is not excessive and the skin is elastic. In the case of an abundant potato and bread diet, the muscles are weaker, the adipose tissue becomes much more plentiful, the lower belly is bloated, the skin is flabby.
Though the quantity in the latter case may be greater than in the former, the capacity and endurance of the body are far greater in the first case.
One may best convince oneself as to the proper degree of nourishment of the body by means of the weight.
According to Vierordt this can be determined by the following L B
formula. = K., i. e., L = the length of the body in centi-
—40
metres, multiplied by B = breadth of breast (measured over the nipples) in centimetres, divided by 240, is equivalent to K = the weight of the body in kilograms.
As Vierordt has calculated his formula by numerous measurings of healthy individuals, we may take his standard to be a pretty accurate one.
If, for instance, the length of the body = 168 cm., and the
.i 168 . 88 _
breast-circumference = 88 cm., the weight must be -—— — = 61.6 kil.
In defective nourishment the fatty layer may be too little or too abundant. In either case, it often seems to be a question of an inborn disposition to leanness or stoutness.
A defect which has been observed not only amongst the Hottentots,



but also among European women, is on6 to vvliich Richer first called attention; namely, an abnormallv pronounced accuinulation of fat in the region of the pelvis and the upper third of the thigli; Fig. 24 shows it very distinctly.
Whilst, in nonnal figures, the fat under the skin rounds oft the figure, without altogether concealing the subjacent forms of the muscles, joints and bones, in a lean body the latter are too prominent and make the figure angular. When there is excessive accumulation of fat, the deeper parts of the body are first of all concealed, eminences and furrows form at the flexing-places of the limbs, under the breasts and at the chin, and the delicate limbing of the figure vanishes. In places where there is over-tension of the corium, white, sraooth scars spring up, similar to the so-called scars of pregnancy.
When a full body gets thin again, the skin can only regain its original elasticity to a certain degree: when it altogether fails to do so, it hangs flabbily on its foundation and forms folds and wrinkles.
By such signs as well as by the scars, which occur chiefly on the belly, the thighs, and the buttocks, a bodv which has grown thin can be distinguished from a naturally thin body.
There are many lean women, who only reach their full bloom at a time, when others are already fading through excessive fullness of figure.
The mode of life may, in spite of good nourishment, have an injurious influence on the harmonious development of the body.
In some professions, a special set of muscles is more frequently and persistently used than the others. Those muscles develope more in consequence, become thicker and are more prominent than the others. As, in the case of blacksmiths, the muscles of the arm and shoulder are disproportionately powerful, as compared with the leg-muscles, so, again, in the case of ballet-dancers, the forms of the leg are very powerful, whilst the arms and shoulders are too weakly developed.
It may be said. generally, that, among women of the upper classes, the muscles are not sufticiently exercised, especially those of' the arms and shoulders.
In the poorer classes, the legs are set to hard work at an early



age, so tliafc thev become strong and wiry, under otherwise normal circumstances, but are hindered in the longitudinal growth of the bones, and thus become too short in relation to the rest of the body. Add, to this, bad nourishment and rachitis, and they become also bent and bulky in the joints.
A permanent curvature of the spinal column may result from an excessive burdening of it, if frequently repeated, as indeed frequently happens in the case of numerous children, because of their position while writing.
The right breast and shoulder are, almost universally, more strongly developed than the left. It is a phenomenon connected with man's right-handedness, and can therefore scarcely be looked upon as a defect, unless the distinction is exceedingly marked.
In many women, single parts of the body are permanently disfigured by frequent pregnancies; others, again, feel no effects from them.
We shall return to the point later on.
VI.
Influence of Sex, F\ge and Heredity.
Various anthropologists (Albrecht, Delaunay) and philosophers (Lotze, Schopenliauer &c.) have endeavoured, with mucli acuteness, but with still more prejudice, to show that woman is inferier to man and nearer the monkey; or they regard women as a lower stage of development, approximating more to the child.
Charcot, Richer and their disciples have been especially instrumental, by dint of careful observations of nature, in introducing a little clearness into the question. A very careful collation of all sexual differences is given in Havelock Ellis s Man and W o m a n.
I will not here again engage in a criticism of opposed views, but place myself at the standpoint adopted bv the school of Charcot,



according to which Man and Woman, in their completion, stand side by side as two distinct types, (1) each of which has gone an equal distance, but in a different direction, from the original cliild-type.
Just as some male individuals approximate to the child-like or to the female type, some women, on the other hand, approximate to the child-like or to the male type.
In this sense one may talk of an influence of sex on the normal female forms of body.
Hunter was the first to make a distinction between primary and secondary sexual characters.
We may regard as primary sexual characters the genital parts as such; as secondary sexual characters we may regard all those changes of the child-body, which give a person a female or male appearance.
In all cases, in which the primary sexual characters are not properlv developed, in the so-called hermaplirodites, the secondary sexual characters consist in a mixture of the male and the female type. There are cases in which even experienced doctors (2), could only decide with a microscope whether they had to deal with a male or a female body.
Apart from such cases of real or apparent. hermaphroditism there are a whole number of woman with normal primary sexual characters, whose secondary sexual characters show an approximation to the male or child-like type.
The facts hitherto known in that regard do not suffice to explain, whether it is a matter of defective development of the genital parts in such cases, or not.
The most inportant secondary sexual characters of a woman are: delicate bone-structure, round forms, breasts, broad hips, abundant long hair on the head and lack of hair on the body, except in the arm-pits and on the inons veneris.
When we want to determine the normal female figure, we must exclude all those which have a hard bone-structure, angular forms,
(1) Plato, Symposion: The two halves that seek each other.
(2) Sanger, Pozzi, Neugebauer, cf. Centralblatt für Gyniikologie, 1898, p. 389 sq. (No. 15).



no breasts, narrow bips, short and scanty hair on the head, hair on the face, between the breasts and on the abdomen.
Although the fully-developed type of the virago, the manwomen, is easy to recognise, yet the correct elimination of forms approaching the male requires in many cases a very careful investigation, and even confirmation by means of measuring instruments.
no breasts, narrow hips, short and scanty hair on the head, hair on the face, between the breasts and on the abdomen.
Although the fully-developed type of the virago, the manwomen, is easy to recognise, yet the correct elimination of forms approaching the male requires in many cases a very careful investigation, and even confirmation by means of measuring instruments.
We shall return, later on, to the other secondary sexual characters, when we deal with the several parts of the bodv.
The elimination of the socalled infantile formation of the female body, if it is not very distinctlv marked, is still more difficult than the elimination of the form approximating to the male.
A very fine instance of female infantilism lias been described by Meige (1). The young woman in question is 30 years old, and has the outward appearance of a girl of about 12. She suffered from hysterics: the genitals were normal. but. like the bodv. tliev
were backward in development. 21" ^fter'MeTge" a WOman'
Her body shows a quite childlike structure without any secondary sexual character (Fig. 21). (1) Nouvelle Iconographie de la Salpêtrifere, 1895, p. 218.



Fig. 22. Munich girl of 12' . Tlie apparentlv absurd remark
years. .
that sex may be of influence in
judging of the female body may therefore be thus explained: the
more clearly the secondary sexual characters are developed in the
female body, the more claim it lias to be considered as normal.
It may, at first blush, sound equally paradoxical to say, that it
is particularly to be remarked that the period of life lias an influence
The breasts are wanting, the body is totally without hair: neither hips nor thighs, neither arms nor shoulders have the deposit of fat peculiar to the maturing or matured woraan; the trunk is uniformly cylindrical, the waist does not bend in, the pelvis is narrow, the belly projects and passes into the mons veneris without any sharp demarcation.
Fig. 22 shows a Munich girl of 12 Va with a perfectly normal body; the similarity of her development and that of the justmentioned woman is obvious.
Such full-blown forms of infantilism are as rare as are cases of pronounced virilism. The latter is proved by the fact that bearded women are shown in booths and fairs, as curiosities. Milder degrees of either phenomenon are by no means so uncommon, but, of 100 women I examined for the purpose, I found 4 with a figure inclined to the male, and 2 with a figure inclined to the childform.



on the formation of the body; for everyone knows that a little girl and an old woman look differently from a woman in her prime. What I should like to point out here is, that this prime of life begins earlier with some persons than with others, and that there is much individual variation in that respect.
Every woman reaches in the course of her life a highest prime, which, when represented diagrammatically, forms the highest point of a curve, that may be imagined rising in childhood and youth and declining in later years.
Such a beauty-curve may, in one instance, rise very quickly, and
5 10 15 20 25 | 30 35 | 40 ! 45 50 55
I . 1 1 I 1 1 1 ~
Sehönheitskurve —— Beauté du diable 
Fig. 23. Curve of beauty. Beauté du diable.
fall again as quickly, and we then have the so-called beauté du diable, a conception which only exists in the French language.
In other cases, the curve rises very slowly and sinks equally slowly; the highest point of the curve comes later, but reaches an absolutely greater height than in the first case, and the declining curve descends much more gradually (Fig. 23).
The age at which the highest point is attained is very changeable. In Southern people, it is often reached as early as the fourteenth or fifteenth year; in Germanic races, among the Germans, Dutch, Scandinavians and English, it is generally reached in the twentieth year, or even later. I have known cases in which the full prime was only reached in the thirtieth and thirty-third years.



A clever lady-artist once remarked to me that the aim of a woman is to be a mother; therefore, a woman has reached her highest prime when she is pregnant, and a beautiful woman must be most beautiful when she is pregnant.
I replied that this is actually the case, provided the moment of highest prime coincides with the first nionth of the first pregnancy. For when a woman gets with child, every doctor knows that there is an increase in the organic exchanges; all the tissues are filled to overflowing, the carnation of the skin is more delicate and vivid, the breasts become more prominent and elastic. The charm of full prime is thus intensified until the moment when the swelling of the belly, in the course of pregnancy, injures the harmony of the forms.
The woman of 30 (Fig. 21), whose portrait lias already been given, is an eloquent testimony to the difficulty of exactlv knowing a woman's age by her outward appearance.
In the same classical work, from which the portrait is taken, Souques and Charcot have described, as an instance of géromorphisme cutané, a woman of 21 called Amandine, who, in spite of her youthful age, has a wrinkled body that makes her look like an old woman of 60. I forbear to reproduce liere the striking, but not exactlv sympathetic photograph of her, and refer the curious reader to the original. (1)
But, besides such extremes, there are a large number of cases which are difficult to judge, because they are not so clearly marked. Anybody can easilv perceive it by comparing women of the same age with whom he is acquainted. He will come to the conclusion that the moment of highest prime is very different in different women, and is by no means limited to a fixed age.
We have already described how far education and mode of life may influence the development and maintenance of beauty. It may be mentioned that the women of the so-called upper classes, as a rule, mature later and remain beautiful for a longer time than those of the working classes: there are but few exceptions.
And so we reach a third factor that influences the normal figure, narnely, heredity, or better, breed.
(1) Iconographie de la Salpêtrière, 1891. p. 170.



I use the word " breed" in the same sense in which—if I may be excused—it is used of horses and dogs, when one talks about a
good breed or pedigree.
The value of a dog or horse is estimated according to pedigree, provided that the required bodily qualities are combined with it.
Pedigree has also a certain market value in the case ot mankind, especially the male portion of it, but it has no reference to good or bad bodily qualities.
Breed, in the natural-historical sense, is not exclusivelv that which is recorded in the Gotha Almanach, but it includes all families which, for long generations, have flourished under particularlv favourable conditions of life and have only intermarried with their like. Such selected breeding, when continued for centuries, is bound to produce good results. It is to be found not only in thenobility, but also among the unadulterated peasantrv and iti old burgher families.
I may state, from personal experience, that similar examples of magnificent bodily conformation are very frequently to be found in Holland, which is extremely conservative, both amongst the men and women of old families.
On the other hand, it is also well-known that there are among the Jews, in spite of the liardiness of the people and in consequence of centuries of oppression, very manv more individuals who are abnormal in body, than among any other people in the world.
The results of human breeding will be the better in proportion as the two persons, who enter into a new alliance, are equipped with corporal advantages. Thus the union of a nobleman with a peasant girl. or an Italian vvith an Austrian, may tend to ennoblement of race, provided that the partners are perfectly sound and normal.
Experience shows that the posteritv of two individuals of good breed are the stronger, the less their respective families are related one to another, and that, on the other hand. in cases of inbreeding, the family degenerates more and more, at tirst mentallv, and tlien also corporally.
The explanation of these facts is very simple; 110 one is perfectly



normal. If two persons of different families marry, the chances are that one of the partners has different defects from the other. The children mav inherit both the advantages and the defects of their parents; but the defects of the one parent are neutralised by the advantages of the other. Should, however, two persons of the same family marry, who have the same advantages and the same defects, the children will show the defects and the advantages of their parents in an intensified degree. The more often such marriages occur in a family, the stronger will its defects and good qualities show themselves in the offspring.
As men are generally inclined to perceive the defects rather than the good qualities of their neighbours, heredity is, in particular, usually understood to mean the transmission of the former and not of the latter, and when a man is spoken of as being hereditarily affected in any way, he is, as a rule, supposed to be labouring under an inheritance of defects for which he has to thank bis ancestors.
How great the influence of heredity is, may clearly be seen in the so-called family likeness. As most new-born children resemble one another, this family likeness can only be seen in the later stages of development; and it is curious that children, as they grow up, very often exhibit the features, not of the parents, but of the grandparents. Young men, who desire to marry, would therefore do well, when they are choosing a bride, to consider carefully not only her mother, but also, both her grandmothers.
Yet more remarkable is the recurrence of an older form in a later generation, as, for instance, the resemblance of a daughter to an ancestress only known from her portrait.
Heredity, in this wider sense of atavism, has supplied Paul Bourget with the material for his novel, Cosmopolis. He there shews how, in spite of all the endeavours of so-called Society to belong to no special nation, the original type always reveals itself in the several characters.
Looking at it in this way, we can understand immortality of the soul and body as based on natural science, since the peculiarities of all his ancestors are revived in eacli human being, just as his own will continue to live in his posterity.



But the struggle for existence has to be reckoned with; only the fittest individuals at given times are allowed to transmit their qualities tbrough long series of generations, whilst those who are not so well-equipped for the struggle go under.
Wh at we should therefore aim at in humanity is an ever more beautiful and stronger stock, were it not that, in the modern struggle for life, the result did not depend more on the mental tlian on the bodily qualities.
It is impossible to frame general rules for determining the favourable or unfavourable influence of heredity on the bodily constitution. But, in any given individual case, it is often possible to indicate them.
When, therefore. we have to consider family, age and heredity in connection with judging the female bodv, we must pav attention to the proper development of secondarv sexual characters, we must determine the highest prime of life for the woman in question, and investigate the probably favourable or unfavourable influence of earlier generations.
VII.
Influence of Diseases on tbe Bodily Form.
Many diseases may be contracted and healed, without causing any change in the form of the body; others change it in such a way that even a layman is at once impressed by the deformity; in other cases, again, the illness leaves defects which do not irnmediately strike the eye and may often be difficult of discovery even by experts. We do not propose to deal here with the first group of diseases, which include especiallv the acute infectious diseases, such as typhus, scarlet fever, measles &c., nor with the second group; for anybody can easily see when a person has a hunchback, a broken nose, blear eyes, a funnel breast or a too short leg, and will at
5



once set down a person so affected as not possessing a normal bodily formation.
But the third group of diseases, which leaves behind a slight variation from the normal, merits our especial attention.
Since the outward forra of the body depends in the first place on the skeleton, and on the muscles, skin and fat-layer covering it, we have niainly to deal with diseases ot those parts, and only in the second place with diseases of the inner organs, so far as they aiïect the external forrn.
Of all such illnesses the most important ones are those that befall the body in its period of development, because they may injure much more permanently the delicate forms which are in the way of growing, than those which are already mature.
The most widespread and best known of the diseases which especially influence the skeleton, is the so-called English illness, rachitis. It occurs usually as early as in the first to the fourth year of life, and seldom later. lts chief symptom is a curious disturbance in the growth of the bones (1), which, on account of defective chalky deposit, remain soft and thicken at the articular extremities. The soft bones follow the muscular traction and the pressure of the weight of the body; curvatures arise, which may be very conspicuous, especially in the legs, if the sick children are obliged to walk. When the disease is cured, a very heavy depositing of chalk takes place, bv which the curvatures of the limbs, as well as the thickening of the articular extremities. are permanently established.
Opinions are much divided as to the frequency of the occurrence of rachitis, because, as Vierordt points out, "different observers have very different views as to the nature of rachitis, and because the judgments as to the frequency and seriousness of rachitis have not been formed from a uniform standpoint ".
I can, from my own experience, confirm Vierordt's remarks, and add that a large number of lesser cases of rachitis ncvcr comc under medical treatment. When I was going through my clinical studies
(1) Cf. Vierordt, Rhachitis und Osteomalacie, 1896. Hölder.



in Berlin I noticed this fact, and found that, in nearly every family among the working-classes, there were one or more children who were, or had been, rachitic, who liad never been medically treated.
It is my purpose not to deal with the gravity of the illness, but exclusively with the permanent changes it causes, among which the curvatures of the lovver extremities are the chief. I therefore believe that we may regard the highest percentage, 30 per cent, recorded by Senator and Ritchie, as the minimum of the actual proportion.
The disease occurs most frequently in the working-classes of the larger cities, i. e., in that social stratum which supplies artists with most of their models. We may take it for granted that at least 30 in every 100 girls who spring from the lower classes have certainly had rachitis.
The example of Klein makes it clear that an artist who neglects this circumstance runs a great risk. That painter painted a " Judgment of Paris", (1) in which anyone could teil by the thick wrists and ankles, and the curvatures of the lower extremities that all the three goddesses had had the English disease. Aphrodite evidently took the prize, because she showed tlie symptoms of it most manifestlv. Stuck's well known " Eve " must also have suffered from rachitis in her youth.
According to Vierordt, want of air and sunlight, want of care of the skin and bad nourishment, are of grave significance in the evolution of rachitis. For these reasons it is found less frequently in the higher social circles.
The most important changes caused by rachitis are the following -
Thickening of the wrist, especially on the same side of the little finger (capitulum);
Curvature of the fore-arm and crooked position as compared with the upper-arm;
Curvature of the spinal column and the thorax;
Changes of the pelvis, which becomes less roomy, and may thus •cause a greater or less degree of pot-belliedness;
Thickening of the ankle and the articular extremities at the knee;
(1) Published by the Iierliner Photographiscbe Gesellschaft.



Curvature of the thighs and lower-legs, bandylegs, knock-knees, flatfeet.
The more serious effects of rachitis, such as inflections of the extremities, changes of' the cranial bones, as well as rachitic rosary, (the swelling of the costal articulations in the sternum) need only be mentioned by the way.
All these deviations from the normal may be partly diminished during the further development of the body and may even vanish altogether, but the thickening of the joints generally remains for life.
The following examples mav help toillustrate the facts I have given.
Fig. 24 represents a girl who still shows evident signs of early rachitis.
A marked projection
n i 1 1 _ J. :l _
Fig. 24. Girl with manifest indications of t tne u.nar exrrem.iy
having suliiTed irom rachitis. above the httle-hnger-
side of the wrist, as well as a slight curvature of the fore-arm, may be seen in the left arm. On the left leg there is a characteristic curvature of the lower-leg which is specially prominent above the



inner ankle. The ankle itself is thickened and bulky.
In the case of' the young Viennese woman (Fig. 25), we see only slight traces of her having had rachitis: on the left wrist there is again the protrusion of' the articular extremities of' the fore-arm, and there is a slight thickening of' the bones of the right ankle.
We shall discuss later on some other defects of' both these figures.
Compared with rachitis, all other diseases connected with the bony structure are of' subordinate significance, as they generally occasion sucli radical alterations of'the limbs concerned, that, for our purpose, they need not be considered. They include osteomalacia, osteomyelitis and several others.
The second factor that deterinines the outward f'orm of' the body is the flesh, the muscles.
Apart from some more serious maladies of the spinal cord, in the course of which more or less considerable complexus muscles gradually become atrophied, Erb, Landouzy, Déjerine, Leyden and others, have described certain
diseases in which, generally in
youthful individuals, certain quite definite, and alvvays the same, groups of muscles become attacked: they first thicken and tlien
Fig. 25. (lirl with tracés of having suffered from rachitis.



Fig. 26. " Myopathie primitive progressive," after Londe and Meige.
shrivel. In one form described by Erb, the illness generally begins in definite muscle groups of the shoulder and the upper-arm; in another group of cases, the muscles of the back and the legs are the first to suffer.
Charcot (1) combined all these different forms under the name of myopathie primitive progressive, and Erb (2) followed him later on and included the various types of disease under the name of dystrophia muscularis progressiva (which approxiniately = progressive muscular atrophy).
This disease, apart from the functional disturbance it causes, strongly affects, according to its localisation, the form and carriage of the body.
For instance, one form of it mainly affects the trunk and the shoulders in the muscles that extend to the shoulder from in front and behind (the pectorales, cucullaris, serratus anticus major, rhomboideus, sacrolumbalis and latissimus dorsi), whilst
(1) Charcot, Revision nosographique des atrophies musculaires progr. médic. 7. 3. 1885.
(2) Erb, Dystrophia muscularis progressiva, Leipzig, 1891.



the rauscles extending from above (the deltoideus, supraspinatus, infraspinatus &c.,) remain normal. The consequence is a sinkingforward of the head and neck, protrusion of the shoulder-blades and flattening of the upper region of the breast. In the lower extremities it is especially the great gluteus muscles and the anterior extensor muscles of the thigh (quadriceps) that are the first to be attacked by the disease. The consequence is a pronounced flattening of the thigh in front and a marked prominence of the fold between the rump and the thighs.
Both the above-mentioned conditions are clearly recognisable, in their first stage, in Fig. 26 wliich is taken from Londe and Meige's monograph. (1)
Compare with it Fig. 27. a Berlin woman about 26. who lias an especially welldevelopedmuscular system,
wliich, with the strong back, the excellent convexity of breast and thigh and the obtuse angle between the buttock and the contour
(l)Iconographie de la Salpêtrière, tonie VII, planche XIX, 1894, p. 442 sq.
Fig. 27. Young Berlin woman of' 26 with strongly developed muscles.



of the back of the thigh, presents a striking contrast to Pauline C. L. (Fig. 26), who is about the same age.
Diseases of the skin have hardly any influence on the general bodily form, but the resulting scars may certainly injure the smoothness and colour of the surface of the body. One has only to recall the disfiguring etfect of small-pox marks, wliich luckily are nowadays much more rarely seen thaii formerly.
Birth-niarks may also be very uglv, and, from the medical standpoint, the small black moles must be eliminated as an abnormality, tliose moles wliich are called " beauty-spots" or * grains de beauté
There are virtually no diseases that attack exclusively the adipose tissue underlying the skin. An abnormally large or abnormally small developnient of fat is generally a result of iniproper nourishment and mode of life. A general corpulence seizes 011 the whole body and distorts it in such a way as to exclude any approximation to the nor mal form.
Apart from the diseases mentioned, which act directly on the bones, muscles and skin, there is a whole series of internal diseases, which affect all tliose parts at the same time, and thus affect also the general bodily form.
To enumerate tliein all would mean writing a text-book of physical diagnosis. I refer anvone who desires complete knowledge to Vierordt's well known text-book (1).
The most conimon and important of such diseases is consumption, of which, according to Strümpell, one-seventh of mankind, i. e. about 15 per cent, dies.
Strümpell (2) describes the so-called " phthisical constitution," i. e. tliat formation of body which indicates a tendency to consumption, in the following words.
4 The signs of a phthisical constitution, are: a slender bodily frame, often rather tall, a weaklv muscular system, a very slight
(1) Vierordt. Diagnostik tl er inneren Krankheiten, Leipzig, Vogel-
(2) Strümpell. Specielle Pathologie und Therapie der inneren Krankheiten, 1894, I, p. 363.



layer of fat, a skin which is often very delicate and bluishlv transparent, and which sometimes shows patches of red on the cheeks, a long scraggy neck, a long narrow chest, narrow thin hands etc.
" The chest is generally conspicuous for its length, but is at the satne time narrow and flat. The facts, that the several intercostal spaces are broad and that the angle in the pit of the stomach is acute, are connected with the length of the chest. The sternum, too, is long and narrow, and the angle between the manubrium and the body is sometimes especially prominent: the upper and lower clavicular fossae, as well as the jugular fossas, are sunken in, and the shoulder blades protude from the thoracic wall.
Fig. 28 represents a young woman in the initial stage of consumption, who pretty clearly exhibits all the signs mentioned. I owe the photosrraph to the friendliness
of Dr. Roesingh, the Director of the City Infirmary in the Hague. The outward tokens of consumption are yet more manifestly
Fig. 28. Young Dutch woman of 20 of " phtliisical constitution ".



visible in the already-mentioned Aphrodite of Botticelli. The same type appears in the naked figure of' Spring in the same Master s " Frimavera. " But whereas, in the latter case, the budding of things, doomed to speedy decline, is excellentlv expressed by the corporal charms of a consumptive woman, the type seems to nie less happily chosen in the case of a Yenus.
Scrofula is closely allied to consumption and is probably, like consumption, caused by the poisoning of the body through tuberculous bacilli. The word is derived froni * scrofa, a pig, and is explained by the fact that the face, owing to the swelling of the glands of the neck, of the nose and the upper lip, acquires an expression that recalls a pig.
There are two distinct forms of scrofula. 1 he one, the so-called scrofulosis torpida, is cliaracterised by a bloated face, thick nose and thick, protruding lips, often with a curved prolongation of the upper-lip, swelling and thickening of the cervical glands, dirtywliite colour of the skin, scanty muscling, accompanied by a comparatively strong development of the subcutaneous fat-tissue, through which the figure assumes a somewhat spongy appearance, a fat stomach, thin extremities, and in many cases, inflamed eyelids.
The second form, scrofulosis erethica, is cliaracterised by a considerable redness of the skin and thin bodily forms, together with a pronounced disposition to suppuration in the swollen glands , the general condition is reminiscent of the phthisical constitution.
In this form of scrofula, just as in the case of consumption, we usually notie? strikingly sunken, glittering eyes, with long, generally dark eyelashes, which greatly help to increase the mournful beauty of the diseased body.
Scrofula usually makes its appearance in the later years ofchildhood; the thickening of the upper lip and the swelling of the glands of the neck last the longest of all tlie symptoms.
A charniing lady-artist showed me some time ago a youthful Psyche, whom she had faithfully depicted after the living model. It was quite a certainty to infer, from the thickening of the upper-lip, that the model was scrofulous; and, in fact, the lady told me that the young woman had often had a cold, and had



suffered from swellings of the cervical glands and from inflamed eyes. Es ungue leonem.
Another disposition of body well knovvn to doctors is the so-called "habitus apoplecticus " and " emphysematosus," the outward appearance of persons who are inclined to apoplexy and asthma: a short neck, thick-set body, swollen, red face, and cask-shaped chest.
This external appearance however, is generally found at an advanced age, and, even tlien, more frequently among men than women, so that we are not particularly interested in it here.
Rachitis and consumption are the most important of all the diseases mentioned. As has been said above, at least 30 per cent of living humanity suffer from the English illness, excluding the mild cases which are not medically treated, and 15 per cent die of consumption. This niakes altogether 45 per cent, who suffer from the English illness and from consumption, or almost the half of all mankind. Both diseases may certainly often appear in one and the same individual, and the percentage of healthv persons would then be appreciably larger. But it must be remembered on the other hand, that neither the less serious cases of rachitis, nor the cured cases of consumption are taken into account in this calculation, so that the proportions again become appreciably less favourable.
It is sufficiënt for our purpose to insist that, in determining the normal figure, we must pay great attention to the signs which are the results of those two diseases, and that we must deny women, who are afflicted with them, the posession of an anatomically beautiful, i. e. normal, figure.
Yet we should not forget, that there is a whole series of cases, in which both diseases have been cured without leaving any traces.



VIII.
Influcncc of Dress on tbc BocJily Form.
It is dif'ficult, often impossible, to separate the real from the artificial in a fully-dressed woman. The object of fashion is not so much to give prominence to beauties, as to feign beauties and conceal defects, and therefore, any agitation against the so-called follies of fashion is eternally bound to be futile.
Beautiful bodies will appear beautiful in any dress; tliey are, of course, most beautiful when they are nude: no artifices of fashion are necessary for them. As, however, the possessors of such beauty are in the minority, they are compelled to give way to their far more numerous sisters, whose endeavour it is to show themselves to greater advantage than Nature has allowed. To attain this end, those means will be the most popular and most widespread, which satisfy the requirements of the greatest possible number of women.
When once fashion has consecrated such an endeavour, every single woman tries to outstrip her sisters, and thus extravagances come to pass, which depart more and more from the normal, and overstep the limits of the beautiful, which niay also, through their unnaturalness, cause permanent injury to the normal body.
One of the most important of all the charms of the female body is held to be a srnall waist, and, in order to produce it, tightlacing in all possible forms has been practised (1).
Many learned gentlemen, from Hippocrates to Sommering, have agitated against the corset, and many will also do so in the future; but all, without result. Women who want corsets have always had them and always will have them, as long as the earth endures.
I am not an opponent of corsets, but an opponent of the misuse
(1) Witkowsky. Les seins et 1'allaitement, Maloine, 1898. Ch. IV. L'histoire du corset.



to which they are put. It is hopeless to advise badlybuilt women to leave off corsets. I have contented myself with preserving wellbuilt woinen from the harmful consequences of them, whilst there was yet time. and I have been successful in doing so.
In order to understand the moral value of the corset, we must first of all make it clear to ourselves what a waist is, and what it is usually understood to tnean.
Fig. 29, which represents a Javanese girl of good build, who has never worn a corset in her life, displays the natural form of the waist.
The slender waist is excellently conspicuous, in spite of her well-nourished body.
The impression is founded not on the absolute size of the small waist. but on its contrast with the broader hips and shoulders.
That the breadth of the Fig. '29. Javanese girl, who has never , , , . . . . worn a corset.
shoulders is an important
factor is clear from a glance at Fig. 30, which shows the back of a young woman of Berlin; in her case, the waist appears much less slender, in spite of broad hips, because the thorax runs up in a



nearly straight line. so that the body is nearly as broad at the lower edge of the shoulder-blades as it is at the waist.
We must therefore accept it, as the natural condition of' a small waist, that the contour of the body broadens from the narrowest point at the lower edge of the thorax in a soft wavy line, both
downwards and upwards; the absolute size of the narrowest spot is quite immaterial.
In ordinary life people think difïerently, especially the women themselves. They may casually speak of a long or short waist, but they mainly talk of the size round the waist. A waist of 60 cm., is beautiful, one of 50 cm., is enchanting, &c.
But let not man tempt the gods: let hirn never desire to behold what they mercifully conceal.
Meinert (1) and others have lifted the veil and pointed out that constricted livers and sinking of the stomach, chlorosis and constipation, diseases
Fig. 30. Plast er-cast, from the corpse of the iungs and heart are of a young feniale suïcide.
caused by excessive compression of the lower circumference of the chest.
Apart from those severe internal injuries, we have to ask ourselves: Is the result of so much sacrifice of health and joy of life, the acliievement of its real end, the beautifying of the body? The answer is: Apparently, perhaps; in reality, no.
The small waist, thus produced, imposes on the great majority;
(1) Central b 1 a 11 für innere Medici n, 1896. 12 and 13. S a m mlung klinischer Vortriige, 1895, Nos. 115, 116.



but the experienced man can generally teil the hidden defects, even in a fully-dressed woman, by the disproportion between the thin
waist and the other parts of the body.
When the body is undressed, anyone can clearly see the defoimation.
Fig. 31. Torso of a young Viennese woman, witliout furrows due to tight-laeing.
When a young woman's torso is not distorted (lig. ->1), the outline of the chest is gently merged in the lines of the lower bellv, whose even, flat arch is marked by the prominence of the muscles, especially to the right and left of the median line above the navel; the most prominent part is the comparatively fat ïegion about the navel.



The first effect of tight-lacing is the appearance of a transverse furrow above the navel, which produces a rather niarked division of the trunk into an upper and lower part; the soft parts of the lower belly, that lie beneath that line, are pressed downwards and
Fig. 32. Young Austrian woman, with a niarked furrow due to conipression.
frontwards: the belly becomes round and prominent. Fig. 32 shows this disfigurement in an othervvise beautifully made body. In course of time, the tight-lacing becomes tighter, and the abdomen in consequence protrudes more and more (Fig. 33). In consequence of the inconsiderable convexity of the chest, the breasts tend to sink



more and more. Owing to the hard compression of the abdominal muscles, especially the rectus muscles, that go from the mons veneris to the sternum, the outline of the lower belly is destroyed, as well as its main supports, so that it hangs flabbily down and becomes a pot-belly.
Such a body is once and for all disfigured by the first confine-
Fig. 33. Young woman with marks of very tight lacing.
ment, by the least accumulation of fat: the abdomen and breasts become thicker and flabbier and hang down; a transverse, puffy fold takes the place of the waist, and the corset alone can, for a time, artificially simulate the lost form which it spoilt.
A misuse of the corset affects not only tlie abdominal muscles, but also the development and action of the dorsal muscles.
6



Woman, who are accustomed to corsets, soon feel tired and complain of pains in the back, if they go about for any length of time without a corset In such cases the back, owing to the comparatively slight prominence of the muscular elevations, lias a hollow, flat, and but slightly modelled appearance.
The tighter the corset is laced, the higher it is and the earlier it is used, the more injurious is its effect.
It is easy to understand that, in the years of development, when the frame-work of the grovving body is still delicate and flexible, a comparatively trifling pressure sufflces to affect the form, and that the action of the muscles of the trunk is much more deeply and extensively impaired by a high corset than a low one, which merely spans the waistlikeabroad girdle. It is of course obvious that the effect of the pressure is intensified in proportion to the tightness of the lacing.
But anatomical investigations (1) have shown that peasant-women who never wear corsets, often exhibit much deeper furrows of
compression than tight-laced ladies; and the reason is that peasants draw their waistbands tight, and as their effect is confined to a (1) See Meinert, 1. c.
Fig. 84. Furrows, caused by pressure of garters below the knee, in a young woman of '23.



smaller surface it is all the greater. It is not permissible to argue therefrom in favour of a tight corset. But it may well be allowed that a corset is quite justifiable as a means of support for the clothing of the lower bodv, whilst, on the other hand, it must not be misused for the purpose of making an artificial waist.
After the small waist comes the small foot, whicli every woman would like to have, and for the sake of which she spoils the natural beauty of that part of the body by unsuitable gear.,
A lady-artist, whose chief line of work is the representation of the female body in its highest perfection, once complained to me that she had never in her life seen a beautiful female foot—foot, not boots. She was still young; but I confess that, among the numerous female feet I have seen, there are very few that would stand much criticism. It is chiefly the distortion of the big-toe outvvards and the claw-like appearance of the smaller toes that disfigure the foot.
The garter should be mentioned as the third link in the deleterious influence of modern female dress; according to the taste of the wearer, it destrovs the shape of the calf or of the knee. Rembrandt's models preferred the former alternative.
The fastening of children's stockings to their stomachs, which is now in vogue, tends, according to Liicke, (1) to produce carvature of the legs.
People would tlius have the option between furrows on the knee or calf, and crooked legs, unless they prefer the wearing of short soeks or very long stockings, reaching to the middle of the thigh.
Fig. 34 shows the disfigurement of the calf by the pressure of the garters clearly marked.
We have now discussed the three most important parts of female dress that may damage the beauty of the body, and we have, as the result, to guard against the disfigurement of the trunk by means of lacing and vvaistbands, of the feet by tight boots, of the knees and calfs by garters.
(1) Quoted in Hoffa. Orthopiidische Chirurgie. 1894, p. 112.



IX.
appreciation of the Body Generally, from the given points of view.
We have seen that the beauty of the feniale body is dependent 011 certain more or less definite laws, which have been partly empirically and statistically, partly exactly and deductively established.
But in their application we must so far abandon the scientific standpoint, as to criticise individuallv in spite of them, and not to blindly generalise.
That is the danger, which is mainly imminent in connection with the facts that have been empirically and statistically discovered. If, by comparing a large number of individuals, we have discovered a certain value, it is an average value, which should only be considered, at the utmost, as the lowest limit of the normal value, but in no case as a standard for "the normal individual
Thus, R. von Larisch (Der Schönheitsfehler des Weibes. Munich, 1896), has propounded the opinion that women have too short legs, and, in proof of his statement, he has given 100 measurements of models which he carried out himself.
Larisch's measurements only prove that there are many short-legged women, especially amongst artists' models; but this is also the case with men, and is, in both inslances, almost always the effect of rachitis.
If we want to determine a normal value, it is not the number, but the selection of the persons concerned that gives the standard. We must first of all prune out all individuals, who have for any reason lost their title to normality.
And the word "normal", in this sense, is, as will be shown, equivalent to " beautiful
I have endeavoured to follow this principle as faithfully as possible.
The medical eye is, like the artistic eye, congenital. It is not



necessary to be either a doctor or an artist to have the eyes of both. But there are not only men who are colour-blind, but also men who are blind to form, who lack both qualities in a greater or lesser degree, and unfortunately there are a good many doctors and artists among them.
The artist, like the doctor, sharpens his eye by practice, and both are obliged, in order to convince themselves of the correctness of their sight, to use certain technical aids, which enable them to compare their visual impressions with absolute values.
We have now, first of all, only to do with the manner in which a man obtains a correct impression of the form of the female body, from the medical standpoint, and we have in connection with it. just as in the case of a patiënt, to begin by considering the figure generally, before we pass to a judgment of the several parts.
It is important, in the first place, to set the nude body in such a position that the full light may fall evenly 011 it; as, for instance, opposite the window. When the lighting is oblique, it is difficult to compare the right half of the body with the left. The spectator should place himself at some distance away, with his back to the window, exactly opposite the person to be judged.
The posture of the body must be upright, like that of a soldier, but the feet must touch one another in their whole length (Fig. 35).
In this position one may, first of all, make oneself familiar with the proportions, the relation of the several parts of the body to one another and to the whole, and, where necessary, assist the eye with tape and compass. Zander's measuring apparatus answers all strictly scientific requirements.
For purposes of quick observation, it is sufficiënt to take a few chief measurements, which have been determined by comparative measurements of well-made bodies.
A. Measurements of height:
1. The height of the body is 71/* to 73/i times as great as the height of the head; the ratio 1: 8 occurs verv rarel.y. The average bodily height of European women is, according to Quetelet. 158 cm.



2. The middle of the body (Fig. 35) is equivalent to half the total height; in women, its position is approximately at the upper hair-boundary of the mons veneris. The slightest upward deviation of the centre indicates a defect in the lower extremities.
3. If the length of the arm is correct, the elbow-joint must be on a level with the waist, and the wrist on a level with the mons veneris, when the arm hangs motionless.
4. The length of the legs has already been determined by the position of the middle of the body. If the legs are quite straight and well-formed, they must touch one another, when in the position mentioned, at four points, namely, at the upper third of the thigh, at the knee, and the calf, and the ankle. In the case of youthful persons, whose calves are not yet fully developed, the third point of contact may fail, without the shape of the legs being therefore bad.
If the knees do not touch, when the ankles are pressed together, the legs are bent outwards (bandy-legs); if the ankles do not meet, when the knees are together, the legs are bent inwards (knock-knees).
The highest point of contact is dependent on the size of the thigh.
Fig. 35. Symmetrical posture of the body.
B. Measurements of Breadth:
1. The breadth of the shoulders is, both in the female and the male body, the absolutely largest of all the latitudinal



Fig. 36. Normal male figure, nfter Merkel.
Fig. 37. Normal female hgure, after Merkel.
measurements; accurate measuring is made difficult by the great motility and the varyingly high and low positions of the shoulders. It is safest to start measuring from above, from the outermost edge of the shoulder-blade, the acromion (breadth of the shoulder-joint).
2. The breadth of the waist is the narrowest diameter of the trunk at the lower edge of the ribs.



Fig. 38. Normal male figure Fig. 39. Normal female figure from behind, after Merkel. from behind, after Merkel.
3. The breadth of' the hips is greatest on the level of the externally perceptible projections of the thigh-bones (trochanters), and even below them; for determining the measure it is most advisable to feel through the skin for those projections of the bone and to begin measuring from them. The breadth of the hip-joint is more



difficuit to determine, owing to the inaccessibility of the hip-joint; it is equivalent to half the breadth of the shoulder-joint.
The characteristic form of a well-made female trunk results from the relation of these three measurements.
In 25 well-built women I found the following proportion:
It turned out that, quite independent of the length of the body, the latitudinal measurements always feil out in such a way that the breadth of the hips was 4- cm., and that of the waist 16 cm., less than that of the shoulders.
If further measurements be required, either liicher's division into heads, or the methods of Fritsch or Langer can be used.
The measurements given above are, however, sufficiënt for the judging of the general relations of the figure. But, besides that, one of the most important of the secondary sexual cliaracters, the conformation of the female trunk, is novv already established bv the latitudinal measurements.
The secondary sexual characters can be clearly recognised in Fig. 36—39 (1), whicli represent the normal male and female figure, according to Merkel.
The measurements for the trunk in Merkel's normal figures are:
Apart from the absolute size of the measurements, it is particularly important that the ditference between the breadth of the hips
(1) Fr. Merkel. Handbuch der to'pographischen Anatomie. Vieweg, 1896, Vol. II, pp. 182 & '256. The author and publisher of the book were so kind as to allow me to reproduce the excellent figures. Tlie proportions of the reproduction to the original are as 138: 165; the originals are one-tenth of the natural size.
Length of body 155—170 cm.
Breadth of shoulder 35—40 cm.
Breadth of waist 19—24 cm.
Breadth of hips 31—36 cm.
Man. Woman.
Length of body 165.5 cm. 158 cm.
Breadth of shoulders 47 cm. 37 cm.
Breadth of waist 25 cm. 23 cm.
Breadth of hips 32.5 cm. 34 cm.



Fig. 40. Norraal feraale figure.
and that of the shoulders in a man is 12.5 cm., whilst in a woman it is only 3 cm. The preponderance of the hips in relation to the



shoulders is the most important of the secondary sexual characters of a woman.
One can further perceive from these figures the greater delicacy of a woman's skeleton and the greater breadth of her pelvis, as well as the alteration of the form of the upper body, caused by the development of the mammary glands, and the rounder female figure.
In Figs. 40 and 41 are contrasted two photographs, taken from life, of perfectly normally proportioned human beings, who well express in their vigorous development the difference between the two sexes in bodily form.
Although the muscular system of the young woman is exceptionally powerful, whilst the forms of the man are toned down by a certain amount of adipose tissue, yet the lines of the female body are infinitely softer and the preponderance of the region of the hip in the woman, and of the pectoral region in the man, can be seen at a glance.
It was, up till now, generally taken for granted that the lumbar part of the female spinal colum is larger than that of the male. Merkel has pointed out that this is certainly the case, if the anterior side of the lumbar vertebrae be measured, but that the precise reverse is the case, if the posterior side of the lumbar vertebrae be compared; for the man is biggel" there. It follows that the female spinal column is more bent in the lumbar curvature than the male, a fact which is connected with the more pronounced inclination of the female pelvis.
As for the external form of the body, a fresli sexual character results from this observation, namely, the female loins appear more drawn in, and the profile of the line of the back more bent than that of the male.
This distinction is clearly seen in Fig. 25.
When you have thus become generally familiar with the proportions and the development of the sexual characters, you must go on to form a judgment as to the symmetrical development of the body.
This mav be donc, in a certain sense, by contemplating the human figure in frcnt, in the attitude I have already described.



Fig. 41. Normal male figure.
But it is better for this purpose that the person to be examined sliould stretch himself at full length on his back, whilst the student should go behind his head, and, from that standpoint, compare the



right with the left half of the body in the foreshortening. In that way irregularities become much more easily perceptible.
In doubtful cases, the number of which quickly diminishes with a little practice, direct measuring must decide.
The weight of the body is decisive ofthenutritorycondition. As I have already said, it can be calculated, according to Vierordt's
Fig. 42. Female and male torso in pronie, alter inomson.
formula, from the length of the body and the circumference of the breast above the nipples. The normal average weight of a woman varies between 52 and 60 kilograms. A valuable indication for judging of the nutritory condition is the appearance ot the skin, its elasticitv, its brilliancy and its colour.
A healthy skin clings smoothly, and without folds to the surface of the body; the natural folds in the flexion parts are smoothed out when the limbs are stretched. All protruding corners and



edges of the bony frame are, particularly in women, smoothed out by the fatty deposit, whilst, in places where the skin is more closely attached to the underlying parts, dimples are formed, e. g. 011 the chin, the cheeks, the shoulders, the elbows, the loins. If a fold of the skin is taken up with the fingers, it is immediately smoothed out again. The injury to the elasticity of the skin caused by great emaciation has already been mentioned. W hen the elasticity disappears with age, wrinkles form, which appear first of all at the eyes (crow"s-feet).
The skin has a dull, velvety sheen of soft smoothness. Poets compare it with ivorv, alabaster and marble: but artists know how difficult it is to give marble and ivory the appearance of the skin.
The surface is not evenly smooth, but is picked out with countless minute clefts, so that it resembles in some respects an exceedingly delicate concrete network, and consists in a small beaded surface. The smaller the bead, the softer the dull sheen of the skin. With bad nourishment or illnesses, the skin becomes faded or discoloured: when there is excessive cebaceous excretion, it has a greasv, mirror-like gleam.
It is as difficult to describe the colour of the skin as to reproduce it. It is compared with roses and lilies, milk and blood, wax and snow, and even with new-born lambs; the painter uses, in addition to white, vermilion, cobalt and yellow-ochre, all the colours of his palette, in order to reproduce the shades of the human skin. The uppermost layers of the skin are dully transparent, so that all the underlying parts more or less communicate their colours to the skin, according to its thickness, and thus constitute the different shades of the skin. The dark-red veins appear bluish; the brunette tone is a consequence of the greater accumulation of pigment in the corium, which gleanis brownly through. The tenderer the skin, the more vivid the colouration.
Those parts of the skin which are not covered receive a deeper colouring, through the effects of cold and light. It is therefor that the skin reddens, when a person is much in the fresh air, and has a pale look in persons who pass their lives in enclosed spaces.
The reason why the cheeks always appear redder than the rest



of the face, is that the arterial blood-supplv there is most abundant and the skin most tender. The redness of the cheeks remains even in case of general pallor.
The so-called hectic red, to which we shall return further on, must be distinguished from the healthy red colour.
With good nourishment, the skin is generalij whitish, with a rosy shimmer; a yellowish or bluish colouring indicates illness, but also a bad diet defective in albumen.
Like the skin, the fatty deposit underlying it is of varying thickness in different places in the body. We shall describe further on, how it is distributed; but it should be borne in mind that, as a rule, the skin is thinner and the fat deposit thicker in woman than in man. It is thus, that one never finds in a woman sharply defined muscles, marked off by furrows, sucli as are seen in male workers.
The beauty of external forms is almost never injured in a woman bv vigorous muscular work, as I have several times had occasion to remark in female acrobats and circus riders.
It has alreadv been pointed out that, by the excessive and exclusive use of one group of muscles the harmonious inipression of the whole body may be injured. In order to be able to form an o])inion about this, a more accurate knowledge of the muscles of the human body is necessary.
These can be made more easilv visible than tliey usuallv are, by making the person to be examined go through certain movements, in which the several muscles come prominently into play.
We shall return later on to the muscles, and their influence on the form of the various parts of the body. With a little practice, a ]>erson will soon be able to recognise the uniform development of them at a glance, by the modelling of the body. The best way to get acquainted with the muscles of the shoulder and chest is, to let the arms be slowly raised to above the horizontal and then lowered; the muscles of the abdomen and back are best seen by flexing and extending the upper part of the body and the muscles of the legs bv walking movements. If the rotundity of the forms is mainlv produced bv fat, the form of the bodv will reinain compa-



ratively unaffected by all such movements; but when the muscular system is well developed, the rotundity caused by the muscles manifests itself clearly.
We have indicated above, that besides nutrition and development, mode of live and heredity also have a great effect on the external form of the body, an effect which sometimes leaves it in doubt, how far it has been produced by one or the other of the factors mentioned. The two latter, mode of life and heredity, give rise to individuality, i. e. those varations from the general sclieme, which lend the individual figure its characteristic stamp.
One can, as Langer (1) points out, gather together from the vast number of individualities larger groups with coramon characteristics, and, for instance, separate from one another figures that are tall, middle-sized or short, slender or thick-set. Langer finds that those groups are also subject to certain laws, so that tall and slender, short and thickset, generally go together. These are, however, individual variations, which may all be referred to the relation between the proportions of the longitudinal and the latitudinal measurements of the body. It does not matter whether the individual is tall or short, slender or thickset; he can only be held to be normal, if his proportions correspond to the laws already laid down.
I believe that it is at present impossible to frame generally acceptable laws for judging individuality, but it is strictly necessary to take stock of the individuality in any given case.
I do not believe that even Apelles was able, by combining the good points of the twelve most beautiful maidens of Croton, to create a body capable of life, even in a picture, because the harmonious conformation of the various individuals was thereby nullified.
The creative artist, when he départs from his model, runs the risk of being untrue to Nature, because the laws, according to which every single body is developed as a microcosm, are only partially known.
(1) Anatomie der ausseren Formen p. 79.



We may here content ourselves with recording the following principles for the appreciation of individuality:
Every woman has her own individuality, which distinguishes her from all other individuals of her kind. This individuality is founded on certain deviations from the general rules. These deviations give the body its personal stamp and are not to be considered as defects, so long as they remain within the fixed limits of the laws about proportions, symmetrie al development, uniform conformation and secondary sexual characters.
For instance, a very deeply marked, inherited individuality may injure a woman's beauty, because it abolishes one of the most important secondary sexual characters, softness of the forms. A long nose inherited from a fatlier may destroy the harmony of the forms in the face of his daughter, but may intensify the strength of the features of his son.
As we have now discussed the correct proportions, the nutritory and svmmetrical development, the proper growth of the secondary sexual characters, and the individuality of the woman under examination, it only remains for us to determine the period of the highest prime, before we pass on to a closer consideration of the several parts of the body.
It is often difficult to discover in a single examination whether a woman has attained or passed her highest prime.
It is generally accepted that the female body is fully developed in the 23rd year of age; but it has already been pointed out that the age in this respect is subject to very considerable individual variations.
The appearance of the tirst menstruation is a safer starting-point. The later it is, the greater the probability of the highest prime being later also.
We have in the proportions a further starting-point for judging the greater or lesser development of the body. In a newly-born female the head is relatively the largest part, the extremities the smallest. In order to attain to its full development, the whole
7



body must be increased at least three-fold; the liead, nieanwhile, becomes doublé its original size, the trunk increases three-fold, the legs four-fold. The liead generalij reaches its permanent length at about the thirteenth year of age, as also the trunk; hut the legs attain to it much later. Now, as the centre of the body is the lower the longer the legs are, the lowest position of the centre of the body must coincide witli completed growth. It is, therefore the more probable tliat we have to do with a developed body the lower the centre of the body is. And yet it remains in tliis lowest position at a time when the highest prime is gone, and therefore the proportions may at the utmost serve to distinguisli a body which is not fully matured, from a mature one, but not from an over-mature one.—The formation of the breasts affords the surest standpoint for deciding the question. The highest prime of the breasts and also of the body is reached, when their elastic forms have attained their highest development owing to the hard glands, not to a deposit of fat.
It is clear from the foregoing, that in order to arrivé at the heart of things, we must put a few questions to the person under examination. Age, the appearance of the first menstruation, occupation, mode of life, and family relations may be important to us for the determining of individuality, the highest prime etc. We are therefore, in a certain sense, obliged to institute a catechism and to base our opinion partly on wliat we learn from the subject of our examination.
But it should, at the same time, be borne in mind that this catechism, as also happens in the medical world, has only a subjective value, i. e., that we should only regard the result of it as trustworthy, if it agrees with the objective results obtained by us.
This is a scientific requirement, and by no means indicates mistrust of women in general or of the person under examination in particular.



X.
Appreciation of tbc Sevcral Parts of tbc Body.
Just as, when we examine a sick person, we subject his organs, after a general observation of his body, to closer inspection, we must now occupy ourselves in greater detail with the several parts of' the body. The later inspection is in so far the more difficult as we endeavour in the first case to seek out existing defects, in the latter case to weed out possible defects. The better our results are, the more readily may we exclaim with the old General: I can still see many defects that are not there.
As we pointed out that, in considering the bodv generally, it is important to let the light fall fully and evenly from in front on the body, we must here point out, that it is often desirable, for the correct judgnient of parts of the body, to look at tliem in a side-and half-light, because the details of the figure become thereby more prominent (Cf. Fig. 22).
But, besides this, we are often compelled to place the different parts of the body in different positions. The positions in profile and full-face are sufficiënt for the liead: but we shall see that, for the trunk and yet more for the measurements of the limbs, we shall often not be satisfied with that, but shall also be obliged to make use of the various phases of movements.
A. H e a d.
The form of the liead, considered as a whole, is essen tially dependent on the formation of the skull. But as 97 per cent of children are bom head-first, owing to whicli the back part of the cranial vault becomes, however slightly, fiattened (and the fiattening is seldom entirely made good again), the skulls are, in by far the greatest



number of cases, unsymmetrical. As a rule, however, this abnormalitv is so small that we need not take it into account.
The secondary sexual characters are clearly marked in the skull (Fig. 43). In the first place, the size. as well as the contents, ot the cerebral part of the skull are smaller in a woman, and so, too, is the size of the facial parts of the skull, compared with the cerebral part.
The cranial vault is stronger and more uniform in a man: in a woman, the crown of the head is flatter and makes an acuter angle in profile from the forehead and the occiput than in a man. The
frontal region is on that account shorter in a woman and more vertical than in a man.
A woman's forehead, looked at f'roni in front, has a uniform 1 y convex formation, whilst in a man the frontal protuberances are strongly developed and give the forehead a more angular sliape. A woman's facial skull is broader and not so high in appearance, and, in comparison with the cerebral skull, smaller than a man's.
The sexual difference of skull is therefore, in general, the following:—
Male skull: angular, high, with the facial portion predoniinant.
Female skull: round, broad, with the cerebral portion predominant.
In respect of living woman, it is, in profile, especially t h e inflection between the forehead and the crown, and,
Fig. 43. (a) Female. (b) Male skull. Modified after Ecker.



en face, the relative s mail ness and roundness of the face, that can be readily observed, and when well-developed, they constitute an excellence of purely feminine conformation.
Marked prominence of the frontal protuberances, vvhich, as a rule, is only clearly marked in an adult man, may occur in botli seses even in youth, and as a consequence of the English illness (tête carrée). Apart from the youthful age, the morbid origin of such cranial conformation may generally be known by the simultaneous presence of rachitic signs in other parts of the body.
The upper part of the skull is covered with hair, which is never so long in a man, even if it is not cut off, as in a woman.
A woman's hair attains an average length of 75 cm. (Ranke), and is, moreover, thicker than a man's (Virchow). It may even attain a length of 150 cm. and more (1). Long and abundant hair hair is therefore a secondary sexual character in woman, and an advantage in feminine development; and the longer and more abundant the hair is in any given case, the better.
The next important part not only of the head, but also of the body, is the face. Individuality is most strongly expressed in the face. It is always uncovered, and exposed to frequent and thorough inspection; everyone knows the fine sliades of its expression, even if he is not able to explain them.
1'eople are so accustomed to judge solelv by the face, that, if it is beautifully moulded, it niakes them forget all the defects of the body; whilst an ugly face carries condemnation with it, in spite of any good points in the rest of the body.
If we wish to ascertain what are the anatomical requirements of a beautiful facial conformation we must first of all go back to its embryonic development.
We have already, by way of example (Fig. 18), referred to the development of the face, and mentioned what an effect the development of the middle nasal process has on the form of the upper lip.
If we again look at the shape of the head of a human embryo,
(1) I measured four woraen with especially beautiful hair, and found the length to be 120, 126, 130 and 153 cm.; 1 met in Munieh, in 1899, a lady whose body was 164 cm., and hair 155 cm.



six weeks old, we see that the face is niainly constituted of seven processes, one unpaired, the middle nasal process, and three paired, the lateral nasal processes, the processes of the upper jaw, and the processes of the lower jaw, which latter are already deformed in
the sixth week (Fig. 44).
The regular form of the face chiefly depends on the even development of tliose processes, and it is the processes of the upper jaw that plav the greatest part in it.
Each ot the processes mentioned contains, in their rudiments, the skin, muscles, blood-vessels, nerves and bones of the future face; it is especially from the last-named that we can obtain a standard of judgment.
If we compare the skull of a newborn child (Fig. 45) with the enibyronic rudiment, we see that the bones belonging to the three nasal processes, the nasal bones and the middle jaw are far surpassed in growth by the bones of the upper jaw and zygoma. The bones
Fig. 44. Head of an embryo, ot the upper jaw lorm tlie centre, rouna six weeks old. which the rest of the bones of the face
nl and nm lateral and middle 2-anee themselves, as can easily be per-
nasal process of the frontal » , ni.ru
lobe, m s processes of the C6ived from r ig. -io. lliey nrst ot all
upper jaw, m i processes constitute in combination with the of the lower jaw.
narrow middle-jaw, the upper boundary of the mouth and the lower boundary of the nose; through the processes which thrust themselves further upwards, they define a part of the orbital cavity and separate it from the nose. Eyes, mouth and nose, the most important parts of the face, are thus brought into dependence on the developments of the upper-jaw.
If we go a step further and compare the skull of the newborn child with that of a grown-up woman, the influence of the growth of the upper-jaw at once becomes manifest (Figs. 4(i & 47).
If the superior processes of the upper-jaw are too strongly developed,



the root of the nose becomes broad and the eves stand further apart one from the other (Fig. 47); if the middle parts are too massive,
Fig. 45. Skull of a newborn child.
The red line covers the facial part of the upper-jawbones.
Fig. 46. Skull of a woman. with a narrow and long upper-jaw.
Fig. 47. Skull of a woman, with a short and broad upper-jaw.
they thrust the zygoma outwards, and the cheek-bones become more prominent, vvhilst at the same time the nose makes a larger angle forwards.
The formation of the upper-lip depends, in the first place, as I



have mentioned, on the development of the lower part. If the upper-jaw protrudes in an oblique direction (pr ognathism), and it is at the same time strongly-developed, it dominates the other parts of the face, and forms the type which is a racial peculiarity of the negroes. But a shortening and broadening of the nasal region go hand in hand with this strengthening of the upper part of the mouth, so that the nose is turned upwards and becomes broad, and, at the same time, makes the aperture of the nostrils visible from in front. A pronounced development of the lower-jaw is generally connected with it (Fig. 47).
But if the inferior parts of the lower-jaw are narrow, and at the same time inclined to be perpendicular (orthognathism), the oral portion rather recedes, but, at the same time, the nose is narrower and longer in its lower part (Fig. 46.)
Xumerous variations of facial conformation result from these factors.
It is obvious that the other facial bones may more or less contribute to it. Anyone who is interested in the subject, will find further details in Langer (1).
We have here confined ourselves to the upper-jaw, as being far and awav the most inportant of the facial bones.
But now the question is, which is the best formation of the upper-jaw.
We have here to take up a position in a question which has already occupied mens' minds and been answered in the most various ways. People say that the European always thinks the European women the most beautiful, the Chinaman the Chinese woman, the negro the negress, just as in the case of a dog and a bitch or a cock and a hen. Whence it has been concluded that the conception of beauty is individual and indefinable.
But the conclusion I should come to would rather be, that the conception of beauty is more or less developed, and that a cock is less exacting than a dog, a dog less than a negro, and so forth. The conception of the highest developed individual can alone be a criterion, and it appears to me to be unquestionable that the Indo-
(1) Anatomie der aüsseren F o r m e n. pp. 110 sq.



German and liis descendants may rightlv lay claim to the first place.
A most striking proof of it is, tliat we see how the race gradually forces back and rots out the other races, not only in Europe itself, but also in all other parts of the vvorld. In America, the Redskins are alreadv becoming limited in number, and in a few liundred years, it will be read, with shuddering, in old fairy-tales, that there once were men with a black skin.
As we thus assign the first place in the natural-historical ranks to the Indo-German, by reason of his success in the struggle for life, we may further state that among the Indo-German women, those occupy the highest place, who have departed furthest from the characteristics of other races, i. e. from the more animal forins.
As, therefore, a broad, short and prominent upper-jaw is the characteristic of the negro or monkey-type, the conformation of a face is the more perfect, in so far as the upper-jaw has developed to a more narrow, long and vertical shape, and the narrower its superior processes are.
The consequences of such conformation are: a narrow, long nose, a uniform, rather vertical flattening of the lateral nasal part in the direction of the upper-lip, a vertical position of the teeth of the upper-jaw, and only slightly projecting cheek-bones.
These excellences can be clearly perceived in the youthful face of a Roman girl of 13 (Fig. 48), whose facial oval is notably pure and regular.
But, besides these racial excellences, the sexual secondary cliaracters in the facial skeleton have still to be considered.
First of all, we have the above-mentioned relative smallness of the face in proportion to the skull.
Further, the orbital cavities of the female skeleton are larger than in the male.
The uniform rotundity of the female face can be seen in the skeleton. Two further essential secondary sexual characters contribute to it.



Schaafhausen (1) found that, in women of all races, the central incisor-teeth are absolutely greater than in men; and as the central incisor-teeth correspond to the centre of the jaw (indicated in
Fig. 48. South Italian Girl of 13.
Figs. 46 & 47 by a dotted line), we may regard breadth of the middle-jaw and likewise of the central incisor-teeth as a beauty of the female body. The result is a greater breadth of the face in women below the cheekbones in the central p o r t i on s.
(1) Quoted in Ploss-Bartels, Das VV e i b, 1897, p. 25.



Lustly, Morselli (1) bas found out, by comparative measurings and weighings, that woman's lower-jaw is smaller and ligliter tlian man's. We may accordingly reckon, as another beauty of female conformation, a narrow lower jaw, with articular processes running obliquely outwards.
Fig. 49. Samoan Girl.
The result is again, a pronounced tapering of the face from the middle towards the chin.
If we collate the results of the sexual differences mentioned, we come to the conclusion, that a well-developed bony subtratum of the female face is broadest on the level of the lower margin of the
(1) Sul peso del cranio e della mandibola in rapporto col s e s s o. Firenze, 1876.



orbital cavities, and tapers from there downwards in a pronounced and uniform way towards the chin.
The total proportions of an evenly-developed skull must, according to coinciding measurements of numerous well-made individuals, be
Fig. 50. Head of an Austrian Girl.
such that the longitudinal axis falls into three equal parts, namely, from the frontal angle to the upper boundary of the eye, from there to the lower boundary of the nose, and from there to the chin; the greatest breadth above the temples should be to the length of the skull as 2 to 3.
Besides this, the left half must, of course, be formed perfectly symetrically with the right.



It foliows therefrom, that the principal forms of the face are determined by the bony substratum, but in such a way as to leave plenty of room for individual conformation witliin normal limits.
It is a necessary requirement with both sexes that the teeth sliould be evenly disposed, white and smooth; in a woman there
Fig. £1. Spanish Lady (Valencia).
is, in addition, the greater breadth of the front, upper incisors to be taken into account.
The muscles afford yet finer shades of individuality. Their apparent irrugularity becomes explicable (Merkel), when it is considered that they are all grouped about the apertures of the face, the eyes, the- ears, the nose and the mouth, as either constrictor or levator muscles. The constrictor muscles lie circularly about the aperture, whilst the levator muscles lie radially at the margin.



But, again, the several muscles are interwoven, one with the other, and, moreover, tliey are difïerentiated frora the rest of the muscles of the bodv by the fact that not only the muscle as a whole, but also each single muscle-bundle, is capable of independent movement.
This, for instance, is the origin of dimples in the cheeks, through the isolated action of a muscle-bundle which terminates at that particular point in the skin, and contracts in the act of smiling.
There is an excellent description of the facial muscles in Merkel (1) and Langer (2). The muscles are the chiefest exponents of individuality, and possess for us here cjuite a subordinate interest as such. unless one chooses to reckon the delicate de vel op ment of facial expresion as one of the beauties of womanly perfection. To analyse in detail the expression of the face, which is the mirror of the soul, would be overstepping the limits of this book.
But one peculiarity of the facial muscles, which Langer has especially pointed out, deserves our particular attention.
At various places in the face, the termini of certain muscles are inwoven with the skin, for instance in the frontal region, in the ala: nasi, the lips and the chin. The limits of such inplantations are the eyebrows, and the oblique furrow between the chin and the lower lip, and further off, on both sides, two furrows, one of which descends from the ala nasi to the outer edge of the mouth, the other from the outer edge of the mouth to the chin; the latter is often united below the chin with the opposite furrow.
This muscular conformation affects the distribution of the fatty deposit in the face. The fatty layer cannot develope within the boundaries of the firmly cohering muscles; we therefore see, even in cases of pronounced obesity, that the forehead, nose, mouth and chin are preserved from it, whilst the above-mentioned furrows become more and more prominent vvhen there is a great accumulation of fat in the cheeks. One or more rolls of fat form at the chin beneath the combined line of the lip and chin; it is the wellknown double-chin.
As, therefore, a certain roundness of forms is peculiar to women,
(1) Merkel, Topographische Anatomie, J, p. 100.
(2) Anatomie der aüsseren For men, p. 129.



though an excessive fullness is unlovely, we may niake it a condition ot' good development in a woman, tliat the above-mentioned boundaryline should be indicated, without being too pronounced (Fig. 54).
Fig. 5'2. Viennese girl of' 15, with a dimple in her chin, pure facial oval, soft mouth, beauty-folds over her eyes, and abundant liead of hair.
The dimple in the chin, an ornament to the female sex, is, like the dimples in the cheeks, caused by the contraction of' the muscles woven-in with the skin. In Austria, where the "Gruberl ini Kinn" is praised in raany poems and songs, it is of niuch more frequent occurrence than in other countries: chaeun prêche



pour sa paroisse. A Viennese girl of 15, reproduced in Fig. 52, shows this beauty very fully developed.
The filling-out of the cheeks with fat completes the rounding-off of the face to a regular oval, a long egg-shape, but only so long as is consistent with the elasticity of the skin. When the skin becomes flabby, the cheeks hang down and also become flabby.
It is, therefore, an excellent, though not always permissible, way that elderly gentlemen have, of testing the condition of health of their female attendants by pinching their cheeks.
We have already discussed the skin of the face. It is tenderest abcve the cheeks and always slightly red there in healthy persons, because the blood shows more clearly tlirough. A sharply-defined, circular, bright-red spot above the cheek-bones is a sign of consumption, and therefore not normal.
The eyeballs reach their permanent size in the eiglith year of life, and are of the same size in all human beings. The apparent ditterence depends solely on the comparative largeness or smallness of the palpebral fissure, and on the comparative depth or prominence of the eye.
Apart from the fact that dark eyes appear rather larger than light ones, the impression of size depends entirely on the environment of the eye.
The eyebrows lie on the boundary between the orbital cavity and the lower margin of the forehead. As large cavities are a female secondary sexual character, the higher the eyebrows are arched, the more beautiful they are. As, furthermore, bushy eyebrows are characteristic of a man and a rather advanced age, narrow, smooth eyebrows may be regarded as a female beauty.
It is held to be beautiful, when the eyebrows are long and pointed at the side, and ugly, when they are overgrown in the middle; but there is no satisfactory foundation for the idea. That, however, the entire lack of eyebrows is considered a disfigurement, is proved, for instance, by the Japanese custom (1) for married vvomen not
(1) A few years ago I was able to convince myself, in Japan itself, that the custom is gradually dying out.



only to blacken their teeth, but also to sliave oö' their eyebrows, in order to still their husband's jealousy.
The angles of the eyes must, when the lids are closed, lie in a horizontal line; when the lids are opened, the inner angle, which
Fig. 53. Japanese Girl, with Mongolian fold.
falls into a round shape with the lachrymal fossa, is somewhat lower than the other. A pronounced heightening of the exterior angle of the eye is a peculiarity of the Mongolian race, and is therefore to be regarded as a defect in the Indo-German, without distinction of sex. Still, it should be pointed out that the obliquity of the Mongolian eye is only partly a real obliquity and that in many cases an apparent depth of position is produced by the so-called k Mongolian
8



Fig. 54. Female head, with good proportions and well-formed eyes.
fold " (1). The * Mongolian fold " means that particular course of the upper fold of the eye (which also appears quite normally in Europeans) which runs horizontally between the eyebrows and the superior margin of the eyelid. But, whereas, in Europeans, this fold
gently vanishes above the inner margin of the eye, as may be observed with especial clearness in Fig. 51, in the case of the Mongolian eye (Fig. 53), it falls down on the inner margin of the eyelid, entirely or partially covering the lachrymal sac, and disappears in a downward direction in the skin of the nose.
(1) cf. Abelsdorff, Ueber Augenbefunde bei Malayen, Mongolen und Negern. 27. Versammlung der ophthalmologischen Gesellschaft. Wiesbaden, Bergmann, 1899, p. 269.



A glance at Figs 51 and 53 will show the characteristic differences more effectively than any quantity of words.
The position of the eye-lashes on the tarsal cartilage must be
straight and regular; for scantv and irregular implantation points to illness, chiefly to scrofulous inflammation of the eyes. This, too, is common to both sexes.
Two further requirements in the fonnation of the eye may also count as advantages in both sexes, although they are anatomicallv rather more connected with the female structure.
Fig. 55. Head of Moorish Woman.



First of all comes the size of the palpebral fissure and, next, the developnient of the fold of the skin, which, when the eye is opened, can be seen over the upper eyelid. The higher the orbital cavity is, the less does the fold of the skin fall over the lid, and the more softly will it melt away towards the temples. A palpebral fissure above the average size causes the eye, and therefore, also the orbital cavity, to appear larger. But as a large orbital cavity is a female secondary sexual character, a wide palpebral fissure and a fold of the skin hanging soft and high over the upper eye-lid may be declared to be predoniinately female beauties.
Fig. 54 shows them, as well as the shape of the eyebrows, in a very good form, whilst in Fig. 31 the upper eyelid is completely covered by the fold of the skin. This fold is most pronounced in Fig. 51 and disappears very high up, whilst in Fig. 54 it continues very far outwards, and so lends the eye a dreamy look.
The form of the nose is mainly determined by the bony structure together with the nasal cartilage. It is apparent from the foregoing that the form of the nose is good, when it is narrow, a point which chiefly manifests itself in a narrow, long bridge. Whether it then runs straight or is bent, is an individual variation within the normal limits.
We have alreadv stated, in regard to the form of the mouth, that a well-developed upper-lip must be such, that the two outer edges turn gently inwards in a soft line, whilst the middle part, which springs from the nasal lobe, keeps sharply aloof. (Fig. 19). Accordinglv, the free middle of the upper-lip must point clearlv downwards. Further, when the formation is regular, the red of the lip must reach exactly to the curved edge of the lip and become narrower outwards. The under-lip lies on the upper-lip in a slight bow, which becomes broader in the centre. In a wellcut mouth, the upper-lip must project a little further than the under-lip. Whilst the other excellences are common to both sexes, the latter is another special advantage of the female sex, since it is originally connected with the smaller size of the lower-jaw in woman.



The breadth of the fissure of the mouth is to the palpebral fissure as 3:2, and the eyes are separated from one another bj the breadth of an eye, so that the outer angles of the eye are doublé as far apart as the angles of the mouth.
In embryonic life, the ear is very late of development, and shows in later life extraordinarily pronounced individual variations, which are scarcely noticed by most people. But the sculptors among the ancients knevv tliem very accurately (Winkelmann), and
Bertillon lias, in recent years, made use of the characteristic points of the ear for the identification of criminals.
When well and regularly developed the auricle lias, according to Langer, the following formation (Fig. 56).
The tragus and antitragus, which are of about equal size, stand opposite one another at the external auditory canal, just like the helix and anthelix in the upper portion of the auricle. The helix encircles the outer
rim of the ear in a long line, the anthelix pj pine]y formed eur, rises in the middle and splits in two in a^er Langer.
front, whilst at the back it becomes flatter, '^/'.'(V'antl'enx.' combines with the helix and merges in the antitragus. The lobe of the ear bas a free termination.
A defect, which is especially damaging in a woman's ear, is a too pronounced development and size of the auricle.
Since the position of the external auditory canal, which is always 011 a level with the base of the brain, is definitely settled, it is, in especial, an excessive development of the upper part of the free auricle, which is disfiguring.
When the head is held upright, the external auditory canal should be approximately on the same level as the upper edge of the ala nasi, and the upper end of the auricle must not be bigger than the upper end of the orbital cavity.
The young woman of Schappach reproduced in Fig. 57 possesses a very beautiful and regularly formed ear.



Looked at from the side, the most beautiful form of face is the
Fig. 57. Young woman of Schappach.
so-called Greek protile, in which the forehead runs in a straight line into the bridge of the nose.
Brucke (l.c., p. 13) writes about it: "The antique model is regarded by many as an ideal, which cannot be found nowadays and which perhaps never existed, but it will not escape the notice



of a careful observer that there are sometimes heads to be seen in Italy and even in Germany which approach this ideal very nearly.
Fig. 58. Heail with classical cut of face. Photograph by A. Enke.
According to a distinguished painter, who lived for sonie time in the East, the type can still be found in Smyrna in its full purity.
" It is, as a matter of fact, not difiicult to find a pure Greek profile, or at any rate a profile very nearly approaching it."
Fig. 58 represents Herr A. Enke's excellent photograph ot a



gipsy with straight classical features, and Fig. 59 represents two Italian women, mother and daughter, who both show a pure Greek profile.
Kig. 59. Two Italian women with Greek protile. Photograph by Pluschow.
As Brucke points out, the classical sculptors gave the preference to the Greek profile in the presentation of their ideal forms, becau.se it afforded in every respect a good finish to the features. It also harmonises with the ideal facial type, according to the conceptions



we have already developed, because its fundamental conditions are the high-arched eye-brows, a narrow long upper-jaw and a narrow bridge of the nose. But it is not the only possible ideal of beauty, and there may well be other types which should also be reckoned as beautiful.
Fig. 00. Sevillana.
Among sucli types tliere is, first and foremost, the socalled "Roman nose" which, when not too prominent and when the bridge of the nose is narrow, may heighten the individuality of a face without spoiling its beauty.
Instances of facial formation of the kind are furnished by Fig. 51, and by Fig. GO, a young woman of Seville, who, it is true, represents



the limit of the allowable. If the nose were a little longer, or even a little thicker, the harmony of the womanly forms of the face would be destroyed, the face would have a masculine stamp, and a defect would thus arise.
And just as in the case of the Roman nose, aesthetic justification cannot be denied also to the nose that stops sharply at the line of the forehead.
Profiles, such as Figs. 50 and 54 are beautiful, in spite of the angle bet ween forehead and nose. Certainlv, in such cases, the nose must be narrow, straight and not too short.
All these variations within the established limits constitute, in the aggregate, the cliaracteristic signs of individuality, which is not so conspicuous and so developed in any part of the body as in the face.
B. Trunk.
In front of the trunk are the breast (in its wider sense) and the abdomen; behind is the back. lts connections with the head and limbs are the neck, the shoulders, and the hips. However obvious this division may be, difficulties are encountered at the mere attempt to sharply define the several parts. It becomes still more difficult if one takes into account the further names given to various parts of the body, such as the nape, the throat, loins, reins, haunch, the iliac and inguinal regions, stomach etc. Everv doctor is struck by the fact that most persons have but a vague idea where those parts are actually situated. For instance, a woman who complains of pain in the back, nearly always declares the loins to be the sensitive part; in the case of beef she knows very well how to distinguish the buttock from the fillet, but would hardly be able to indicate the position of the corresponding parts in her own body. There are even medical men, who are not able infallibly to distinguish all the various parts of the trunk, one from the other.
The reason is because there are no fixed, ineft'aceable border-lines, and the transitions merge gradually into one another (1).
(1) Cf. Merkel, Topographiache Anatomie, II, p. 180 sq.



We shall therefore do well, first ot all to discuss tlie structure of the trunk as a whole, and then its several parts in their more or less sharply marked demarcations.
The Trunk as a whole.
The Trunk is distinguished from the head by the fact that the soft parts play a much greater röle in determining its outward form.
The skeleton of the trunk is formed by the vertebral column, the thorax, the shoulder-girdle, and the pelvis.
The relation of the skeleton to the surface of the body can be seen by Figs. 36 to 39, which at the same time make the secondary sexual characters of the skeleton clear.
The vertebral column, when in synimetrical position, must be quite straight. Deviations from this point to rachitis, uneven development, tuberculosis and diseases of tlie lungs.
Certainty as to the vertical direction may be obtained, in doubtful cases, by bending the upper part of the body forsvards, feeling through the skin on the back the spinous processes of tlie vertebrae, and marking them in black colour. 'I he points thus marked should lie in a straight line. A yet simpler way is to look for the spinous process of the seventh vertebra of tlie back, which is most prominent at tlie nape, and to suspend a plumb-line therefrom, which, when a body is of good build, should lie exactly in the fissure between the buttocks. The length of the vertebral column, to which the distance from the lower edge of the nose to the upper end of the anterior connection of the pelvis corresponds, is a constant nieasurement, which Fritsch, Carus & Schmidt have used as a modulus for determining proportions, as lias already been stated.
It has also been mentioned, that a woman's vertebral column is in its lateral aspect more inflected, in the lumbar part, than a
man's (Cf. Fig. 42).
The thorax consists of the ribs, the sternum and the pectoral part of the vertebral column.
When there is a good bodily conformation, the thorax should be strongly built, so that the ribs are almost horizontal at the back, and only tend a little downwards on the breast-side. 1'lie form of



the breast depends mainly on its breadth and depth, as we shall see further on.
A woman's thorax is generally narrower and longer than a nian's ;
but it must always be so formed, that the angle made by the lower costal margin is only a little smaller than a right angle.
It is longer in the case of the cask-shaped thorax of asthmatic persons, and smaller, often much smaller, in persons with a consumptive formation and in cases of distortion through tight-lacing.
The distortions of tlie trunk caused thereby have been already shown in illustration; in Fig. 61 the distortion of the skeleton is made clear by a fresh example, which shows only a narrow fissure with a very acute angle between the free ribs on both sides. A glance at Fig. 37 will suffice to make the difference manifest.
Tlie shoulder-girdle is only connected with the thorax in the supra-sternal fossa by the joints of the two clavicles. These and the sternum are the only bones
which lie close beneath the skin in their whole length.
At the lower end, the vertebral column is connected with the
pelvis by the sacrum. A woman's sacrum is broader and shorter than a nian's; we shall see, further on, how this aft'ects the formation of the surface of the back.
There are important secondary sexual characters to be noted in
Fig. 61. Skeleton of the trunk of a voung woman of 25, ilistorted by tight-lacing (after Kudinger).



the feinale pelvis. It is more spacious, the pubic arch is more obtuse and the pelvic hollows of the os sacrum are flatter and broader than in a man. It is therefor that in the female skeleton the pelvic region preponderates enormously over the chest, whilst the greatest breadth of shoulder in a woman exceeds the greatest
62 aml 63. Distortion of Skeleton through tight-lacing (after Sommering).
pelvic breadth only by a little, whereas in a man it exceeds it considerably.
On either side of the pelvis, the iliac erests lie close beneath the skin.
The bones of the skeleton of the trunk that can be feit give us a certain po int d'appui for determining the boundaries of several of its regions.
The clavicular margin forms the boundary between the neck and the breast: the lower costal margin that between the breast and the belly, and the iliac crest that between the belly and the hips.



Whilst in the skeleton we are able to define precisely the shoulderboiies, the lunibar vertebral column and the sacrum, such demarcations
Fig. 64. Muscular system of the female torso, from in front.
are speedily obliterated in the living body by the soft parts that cover them. But we have, all the sanie, obtained through our knowledge of the skeleton a series of foot-holds, which are indis-



pensable for the understanding and judging of the outward fornis. Apart from the skeleton, it is, firstly, the muscles and next, tlie
Fig. 65. Muscular system of the l'emale back.
fatty deposit of the skin, that determine the forms of the trunk.
Fig. 64 shows the muscular system of the female torso when viewed anteriorly.



Looking at it in a general way, vvhat strikes one is that the superficial muscles of tlie trunk are divided into three large groups. Firstly, those which together produce the anterior and lateral closure of the peritoneal cavity, secondly, those which go to the
rig. oo. flacK-view 01 man anu woman, aiier moiw, ior a comparison of the distribution of the fatty deposit. (00000 = large accumulation of fat).
shoulder from in front and from behind, from above and from below, and, lastlv, the muscles of the hips.
Of these three groups, the first forms the connection between the thorax and the wall of the pelvis.
Whilst the second connects and fills out all the sharp corners and edges between the shoulders, breast and back, and carries the



outlines of the trunk over into the upper limbs in soft lines, the muscles of the hip are distinctlj separated from the rest of the trunk, laterally and posteriorly by the iliac crests, and anteriorly by the crural arch.
The muscles are the same in both sexes, but weaker in the woman. The ill-development of them may disfigure the female as well as the male body. When there morbid disturbances of the uniform development of the muscles, it is, as we have already said, especially the muscles of the shoulders and hips that are first attacked. The bellies of the muscles should be clearly recognisable even in a well-nourished woman, in spite of the abundant fatty deposit. Apart from the fact that the latter is generalij more abundant in her than in man, it is especially the umbilical region, the hips and the lower parts of the back (Fig. 66) that have, in a woman, a larger and characteristic distribution of fat. This and other details will be yet further discussed.
In considering the trunk as a whole, we have chiefly to pay attention to the uniform and symmetrical development of the skeleton, so far as it is accessible to the eye and to measuring, to the predominance of the abdominal and pelvic region in relation to the upper part of the body, according to the above-mentioned laws of the doctrine of proportion, and to the influence of tight-lacing.
Plate II may serve as a pattern of a well-developed female torso.
The several parts of the trunk.
Breast.
The breast, in the wider sense, is that part of the trunk which is bounded above by the clavicles, beneath by the lower edge of the ribs. lts special characteristic in a woman consists in the two prominences caused by the growing lacteal glands, the breasts, in the narrower sense, the most beautiful of the female secondary sexual characters.
From the conformation of the breast important inferences may be drawn not only as to the breast, but also as to the body in general.
9



The thorax is the basis of the breast; I have already pointed out its relation to the other parts of the skeleton.
The following conditions sliould be fulfilled in a normally built thorax, and their non-fulfilment is an anatomical defect.
1. The pectoral vertebral column must, when looked at in front, run perfectly straight in the median line of the body; in profile it forms a slight, backwardly convex arcli in its upper half.
2. The ribs proceed symmetrically in a uniform arch, lie almost horizontally at the back, sink rather deeper at the side, lie again horizontally in the line of the nipple and rise from theie imperceptibly, without inflection, towards the breast-bone.
3. The sternum lies a little lower than the most anterior points of the ribs, but uniformly follows their convexity throughout. The angle between the manubrium and the body, on tlie level of the second rib (Angulus Ludovisi), sliould not be conspicuously prominent.
4. The general arch of the thorax tums upwards in its higher parts (up to the fourth rib), in the middle parts (up to the eighth rib) it bends forwards, and onlv in the lovvest parts (up to the twelfth rib) somewhat downwards. The arch should be quite uniform, in profile as well as en face.
5. The lower edge of the ribs forms an angle of nearly 90° in the pit of the stomach.
It may be added that. as a general consequence of these properties, the clavicles and the shoulder-blades lie flat on the thorax when the convexity is good.
The commonest causes of defective formation are rachitis, the disposition to consuniption, and tight-lacing.
Rachitis causes curvatures of the vertebral colum, and thereby unsymmetrical development, uneven convexity of the ribs, which, owing to their softness, are distorted bv strain and pressure, inflection of the breastbone between the manubrium and the body (chicken breast) and inflammation of the costal extremities, the result of which is a thickening and marked inflection of the thorax within the lines of the nipples. Owing to the pronounced inflection of the ribs the thorax in general becomes flatter and broader, especially in the upper convexity, whilst its lower parts fall markedly away.



The disposition to consumption is indicated by a long, narrow chest. A consumptive chest, compared with a healthy one, exhibits accordingly, ribs that stand far apart from one another, which have a strong tendency downwards in their whole course, the result of which again is a slighter convexity of the upper parts and a too-slight expansion in breadth. The consequence is that the clavicles are more strongly curved, project further and are prominent, like the shoulder-blades. Deeper f'ossae tlien form under the clavicles. The lower costal margin forms a much more acute angle.
By tight-lacing the chest becomes much narrowed in its lower parts, the convexity becomes slighter, and in particular, very much sharpened in the middle parts, so that, starting from the fourth rib, the arch, instead of tending anteriorly, tends rather inferiorly. The lower costal margin is an acute angle.
The distortion, which is clearly seen in Fig. 61, is due to all these tliree causes, though chiefly to the latter.
Diseases of the lungs, especially pleurisy when it occurs in youth, mav profoundly affect a portion of the thorax in its development, through adhesions. Absorptions or swellings then occur in the spot which was diseased, which disturb the symmetry.
In a living woman we can only feel the chest through the soft parts. We may judge, whether it is well-formed or not, by its uniform rising and sinking in the act of breathing, and also by the shape of the soft parts, which is affected by the structure of the chest.
Of the larger soft parts, it is especially the great pectoral muscles (pectoralis major), that influence the shape of the breast (Fig. 64). Their bundies spring up on the whole anterior surface of the breast from the lower costal margin, the edge of the breastbone and the lower surface of the clavicle, and combine in a pronounced venter musculi, whose tendon is attached to the bone of the upper-arm. The lower edge of this muscle forms the anterior demarcation of the armpit, which deepens when the arm is lowered, and becomes obliterated when it is raised. The stronger the muscle is, the more conspicuous is this line of demarcation, and the more



evenlv does the upper arch of the breast merge into the shoulder.
If the muscle is badlj developed, the shoulders come forward and there is a deep pit between shoulder and breast belovv the clavicles as far as the arm-pit (Cf. Fig. 26).
The breasts lie on the great pectoral muscles, jutting only a little over the exterior edge of them (Cf. Fig. 64), on the level of the third to the sixtli rib.
It follows frorn this relation between them, that the thorax, as well as the pectoral muscle, may have a very profound effect on the form of the breast in its narrower meaning.
But before we occupy ourselves with the breasts, we must briefly consider the relations of the skin.
The skin is especially tender and thin in the region of the nipples; in the centre, towards the breast-bone, it becomes somewhat thicker, and clings fast to the bony foundation on which it directly lies in this part. Towards the shoulders it also becomes thicker, and is again rather closely attached to the lower boundary of the underlying pectoral muscle; but a larger deposit of fat developes there at the same time, which cusliions the armpit, pushes between the second pectoral muscle and the thorax, and gradually merges in the lower boundary of the muscle anteriorly.
Between the skin and muscle, above the fourth rib, beneath the nipple, is the position of the lacteal gland in a child, which does not come to development in boys, but begins to grow in girls from about the tenth year, and finally occupies the space between the third and the sixth rib.
The lacteal gland, first of all, consists of a flat, disk-shaped body, whose excretory ducts lead to the nipples. They and their axis have an outward direction. Later on, two half-globular protuberances arise, which are primarily attached to the great pectoral muscle in their whole circumference. The larger the glands become, the more they stretch the skin in their vicinity, and thrust themselves between these and the underlying parts. But as the skin, when well-developed, clings firmly to the breast-bone, the looser skin becomes more stronglv drawn trom the axillary region, whilst a slight hollow, the bosom, is formed over the sternum, between the



growing breasts. At the same time, the axis of the nipples turn rather more anteriorly.
At the stage of first maturity the growing glandular body arclies
Fig. 67. Austrian girl of 14 with a good setting of the breast towards the anterior axillarv boundary (right side).
a little over the outer margin of the pectoral muscle (Fig. 64), so that the half-spherical breast stands oft' at a sliglit angle from the fold of the skin, which contains the pectoral muscle, and terminates the anterior axilla (Fig. 67, Cf. also Fig. 5).



Round about the growing gland the fatty layer also increases more or less, which gives greater roundness to the form of the gland and makes the transitions to the surrounding parts softer. The more developed the gland is, the harder and more elastic the breast, whilst, if the adipose tissue is more strongly developed, the breast becomes larger and softer.
The more firmly the elastic subcutaneous connective tissue is attached, the more difficult it is for fat to become deposited there, and therefore, a breast which predominantly consists of glandular substance, is generally found in union with a springy, elastic skin; but for the same reason, it is much more closely and intimatelv connected with the skin as well as with the underlying pectoral, muscle.
The growing breast is prevented from hanging-down by the elasticitv of the skin and the close adhesion, and forms ,a halfsomething between a disk-shaped and half-spherical protuberance, which, when the skin is evenly stretched, rises evervwhere in soft lines out of the environment.
But the tendency to put on fat generally goes hand in hand with a slighter development of the connective tissue and a slighter elasticitv of the skin. Breasts, therefore, which are predominantly constituted of fat are more flaccid, hang down, and are lower situated. and more apt to raise the skin in a fold at their lower edge, than in the first-mentioned conformation.
The natural-historical value of the breast, however, depends on the development of the glandular body, so tliat, from this standpoint, we mav require tliat the breast sliould be hard and elastic, and not too big, and should be between a disk and a ha 1 f-sphere in shape, that it should adhere properly to its substratum as well as to the skin, tliat lts position should be between the third and sixth rib, with the nipple not lower than the fourth, and tliat there should be no fold of the skin u 11 der the breast.
Moreover, the nipple must be properly and uniformly developed, and project a little above the areola.
The dis tan ce between the n i p p 1 e s should always be meas-



ured. When the breasts are \ve 11-deve 1 oped, the distance should not be less than 20 cm.
The same point of view has always been taken in Art, and, above
Fig. 68. North Gerraan girl of 16. High-Set breasts.
all, in Greek Art, and so, in this case too, the normal coincides
with the beautiful.
Since we connect the idea of pendulousness with a low position ot the breasts, we consider tlieir high position beautiful. Figs. 68 & 09 may serve as exaniples. They represent two girls ot 1(5, the tornier of whoni is certainly more developed for lier age. Her youthful



breasts are placed remarkably high; whilst in the latter case they are set strikingly low, in spite of their small size.
The beauty of a high-set breast has a scientific foundation, because, when the thorax is well arched, the ribs are closer to one another and run more horizontally, so that the upper part of the thorax
Fig. 69. Munich girl of 16 with low-set breast.
affords a broader surface for the attachment of the breasts, a surface which is further broadened and rounded offby a powerfully developed pectoral muscle.
In the case of a consumptive thorax the breasts are lovver, because all the ribs, and therefore the fourth rib corresponding to the nipple, run obliquely downwards and stand further apart from one another. Moreover, the breasts foliow all the more readily the



laws of gravitv, the more sloping the chest is and the more flaccid the tissues. A fold of the skin forms under them for the sarne reason. (Cf. Botticelli's Yenus, Fig. C).
Fig. 70 may serve as a pattern of a vvell-made breast.
The thorax is well and uniformly arched, the clavicles do not
Fig. 70. Well-formed breast.
project, the breast is uniformly arched beneath them with a broad upper surface, without the ribs being visible. 1 he powerful de\elopment of the pectoral muscle can be noticed, apart trom the uniform convexity, by the marked conspicuousness of the anterior axillarv line that merges in the arm. The breasts are half-spherical, in a high position. they lie on the pectoral muscle for the most



part, and form no fold of the skin. That they are ingrown with the underlayer, is visible in the right breast, which rises up together with the raising of the right pectoral muscle. The lower edge of the ribs forms a right angle in the pit of the stomach.
Plate II shows the same proportion with smaller breasts, and Fig. 32 also, with a rather slighter development of the muscle and a larger deposit of fat.
Fig. 71 may serve as an example of the badly-formed breast: it represents the consumptive type.
The thorax is flat, narrow and but little arched, the clavicles and shoulders project conspicuouslv. The second rib and tlie position of the third, on the right side, are clearly visible in the side liglit. The pectoral muscle is weakly developed, so that the anterior axillary line is scarcely prominent. The breasts are sunken, and have drawn down the skin and the breast with them, which has given rise to an oblique line from the breast-bone outwards, which ends in a fold of skin under the breast. The nipple is betvveen the fif'th and sixth rib.
As, in spite of all those defects, one cannot deny the figure a certain youthful charm, I am again reminded of the Venus of Sandro Botticelli, which represents the same type. Even disease may have its charm, but it is not beautiful.
We have shown that the constitution of the breasts is dependent, apart from the glandular body itself, on the shape of the thorax, the strengtli of the muscles and the elasticity of the skin, and that the result is that a defect in one of those elements always means a disfiguration of the breasts.
The thorax and the muscular structure have already been discussed, but the elasticity of the skin has only been mentioned by the way, in so far as a greater tendency to the formation of fat goes together with a smaller degree of elasticity.
But, besides this, a diminution of elasticity may temporarily or even permanently disfigure the originally beautiful form of the breasts. Diminution of elasticity commences, when flaccidity follows a great tension or when the limit of extensibility is overstepped. The first occurs in cases of great emaciation and in pregnancy; the latter in cases of tendency to corpulence.



Great emaciation, if it be a consequence of acute maladies or of a fatiguing mode of life, may easily be remedied by rest and good
Fig. 71. Badly-formed breast.
fare; and the temporary tumefaction of the breasts, caused by pregnancy, may be remedied without leaving a permanent disfiguration, and, in truth, if properly treated, this happens far more frequently than is generally believed to be the case. One of my lady-pat ïents,



who lias had six children, showed neither in her breasts, nor in any other part of her body, the least traces of the pregnancies she
had gone through.
On the other hand, a tendency to corpulence generally spoils the form of the breasts permanently, and the more probably in cases in wliich it is united with unsuitable alimentation.
It is a defect, which makes the breasts of by far the greater number of artists' models useless in a very short time.
Those girls, who mostly belong to the poorer class, grow up with an inadequate meat-diet in meagre somatic conditions, in consequence of which. at the time of maturity, a certain fullness of the form results through a large deposit of fat, but, owing to the defective elasticity of the skin, it is of extremely short
Fig. 72. Fully-developed breaBt of a duration.
Bohemian beauté du diable. pjf, 72 shows a tran-
O * '
sitory beauty of this kind. The forms of the tigure are thick-set, but pleasing; still, their rotundity is not produced by strong muscles, but by the fat-accumulation of youthful maturity. The breasts are round, well-filled and elastic; still there is not a good development of the anterior



boundary of the axilla, which would prove the existence of a powerfiil pectoral muscle.
The slanting line, which runs from the breastbone outwards and downwards, and separates the right breast from the bosom, proves the heaviness of the breast lias already dragged the skin down. With the least increase in weight the lower demarcation of the breasts will become a fold, and that happens when the youthful fullness vanishes by reason of a fatiguing mode of life or after pregnancy. The highest prime has been reached, perhaps it bas already gone by; it is bound to fade awav in one manner or another; it is the beauté du diable.
Yery pretty and very true is the anecdote, which I believe, was told by Cabanel. He had hired as a model a very beautiful girl, and paid heavily on condition that she should lead a strictly retired life.
One day he found her clianged and dismissed her.
The night before, the voung woman had, for the first time, deviated from the mode of life prescribed for her.
Fig. 72 may at the same time serve as an example of the proposition advanced above, that the quality of breasts is one of the best criteria for determining the highest prime of a woman.
It may be said generally, that any diminution of a fullness once attained affects the body injuriously, and the breasts are the part of the body in which the slightest emaciation becomes first and most clearly visible.
Before the time of highest prime there is a constant increase in the rotundity of the forms. After that time emaciation appears in them, or else a redundance of fullness accompanied by over-tension of the skin.
During the highest prime, the form of the breasts must accordingly be such, that the least increase or decrease of their size damages the form.
Both cases are characterised by the circumstance that the upper portion of the breasts becomes flat, whilst the lower portion becomes rounder, in consequence of which the axis of the nipple tends rather upwards at the same time.



It may be further deduced from all the foregoing, that the highest prime lasts the longer, the more the form of the breast is shaped by the glandular body and the elements of the connective tissue, whilst, on the other hand, it lasts the shorter time, the more it owes its form to the fat-deposit.
Small, flat, high-set breasts, with a finelv-arched thorax and a strongly developed muscle, last longest.
Age lias little to do with the beauty of the breast; I have seen a girl of 15 with pendulous breasts, and a lady of 60, who, thanks to cold water and bodity exercise, lias, in spite of several childbirths, preserved the perfectly-beautiful form of her breasts.
Abdomen.
The abdomen is bounded above by the lower margin of the ribs, below by the iliac crests and the inguinal ligaments. lts form chiefly depends on its muscular tegument, and the form of the upper and lower osseous boundary.
The conditions already mentioned for the lower costal margin also hold good in the case of the abdominal formation. The thorax must have a uniformly-arclied lower boundary, which meets the breast-bone at very nearly a right angle, in order to afford the abdominal muscles a broad surface of attachment. The pelvis (Cf. Fig. 37) lies, for the most part, concealed in the interior of the body; only the iliac crests and the symphysis pubis are close beneath the skin.
In a woman's normally-built pelvis the greatest space between the iliac crests sliould be as least 28 cm., whilst their most anterior extremities, the iliac spines, should have an interval between them of at least 26 cm. Yet more important than the measurements themselves is the difl'erence between them in any given case, which should average 3 cm. and never be less than 2 cm.
A third latitudinal measurement is the distance between the hips at the condyle of the femur (trochanters); it must be at least 31 cm., or 2 to 3 cm. more than the distance between the crests (Fig. 73).



The difference in these three measurements allows of inferences being dravvn as to the form of the pelvic canal, and is therefore of great importance for obstetricians.
The longer the measurements and the greater their differences between themselves, the better-arched the pelvis is and the more spacious its cavity. The normal average measurements, which have been established by numerous measuring, are: breadth of spines 26 cm., breadth of crests 29 cm., breadth of hips 31.5 cm. (difference 3 and 2.5 cm.).
Fig. 78. Female pelvis.
CC, breadth of crests, SS, breadth of spines, TT, breadth of hips, XX, symphysis pubis.
A broad pelvis is a natural-historical proof of the fitness of the woman possessing it for reproduction, and is therefore the most important secondary sexual character. And it is regarded at the same time as a beauty from the artistic standpoint. So that there again we have eloquent proof, that the normal and the beautiful must often unconsciouslv obey the same laws.
The smaller the arch of the pelvic hollows of the os sacrum, the more the spines must project outwardly, until tinally tliey are as distant from one another as the crests at their greatest distance. It may even happen that the spines may exceed in breadth the average distance between the crests. Experience teaches that in that case the pelvic cavity is greatly narrowed, and that such defects in



the developnient of the pelvis are, in by far the greater number of instances, consequent on rachitis.
But, simultaneouslv with the slighter convexity of the pelvic hollows, there is a slighter convexity of the muscular abdominal wall that springs from it; because, as the size of the osseous basis is smaller, it has to bear a greater burden, and, if it is not equal to its task, it sinks downwards, and a pendulous stomach results.
The symphysis pubis lies behind the mons veneris, so that its upper boundary coincides above with the boundary of the pubic hair. lts most anterior point, when the attitude is upright, lies approximately in the same vertical surface as the spines (Cf. Fig. 42). From here, the inguinal ligament proceeds on each side towards the spines: it is closely bound up with the bones, and determines the lower limit of the abdomen.
The anterior abdominal wall consists entirely of muscles and skin.
The most important of the muscles is the rectus abdominis (Fig. 04), which descends from the middle of the lower costal margin to the os pubis. When it is well developed, two furrows should be perceptible on the right and left of it. It tliey are wanting, it is a sign of insufficiënt development.
The rest of the abdominal muscles lie laterally above the crests and form the iliac region, which passes posteriorly to the loins; tliey should also be well developed, since they determine a proper transverse tension of the abdomen. Fig. 64 shows the position of the muscles, which, when well-developed, should produce two long central, and two short lateral, protuberances on the abdominal surface. This formation is to some extent affected by the distribution of the fatty deposit, which, in a woman, accumulates somewhat plentifully in the region about the navel and on the mons veneris. As this distribution of fat is a female secondary sexual cliaracter, it should, in normal conditions, be well developed.
If we take it further into account that the lower belly is bound to be flattened and pressed back by the muscular masses proceeding from above and from the side, in so far as it lies beneath the muscles (i. e. the umbilical region is not intended), we may note the following points in a well-made abdomen :



The abdomen is flatly arched; in the median line as well as on each side, at about a hand's-breadth from it, two furrows descend, which are gradually merged in the umbilical region that projects markedly and yet softly, but they become again rather more noticeable beneath it. The navel lies in a deeper cavitv, which is caused by the accumulation of fat. The iliac region is more strongly arched outside the later al furrows. The transition of all these furrows and convexities must be soft.
Between the umbilical region and the mons veneris the profile shows a slightly undulating line, from which the mons veneris visibly protrudes. (lig. 74).
Every deviation from these requirements is a defect, caused by bad nutrition, defective demarcation of the bones after rachitis &c., improper distribution of fat, inadequate development of the female sexual characters, and lastlv, tight-lacing.
But, besides such defects, the conditions caused by them likewise become more and more pronounced.
When the nutrition is bad, i. e. when there is insufficiënt meatdiet, the quantity of food necessary is larger and the intestines are more extended, so that there is an increase in the abdominal tension without any increase in the strength of the muscles: the abdominal wall becomes thinner, protrudes markedlv, and is badly shaped, with the result that there is a pointed belly.
When an excessive deposit of fat is evenlv distributed over the whole abdomen, the outcome is a frog-belly which is uniformly round and unrelieved in its formlessness by any furrow. F ig. 24 gives a well-developed example of such formation.
When the thorax is narrow, the course of the abdominal wall towards the pelvis is too much broadened, but the action of the rectus abdominis is especiallv injured when the breadth is small. When the convexity of the pelvis is inadequate, as especially often occurs in rachitis, a similar condition is brought about by the outward trending of the crests, a condition which is aggravated when there is at the same time a narrow thorax. The whole weight
10



Fig. 74. Undulating line of trunk in profile.
of the abdominal viscera in that case rests 011 the lower portion of the muscular wall, which itself is situated in unfavourable conditions and projects more and more downwards: a pendulous stomach is the result.



An excellent way of producing sucli deformities is the misuse of corsets.
If the middle of the body be laced in, the inferior circumference of the thorax is first of all constricted, so that all the muscles are confined to a small surface. The rectus abdominis, on whose development the beautiful form of the lower belly mainly depends, is unable to contract, because the furrows caused by the pressure pass right over it; its superior parts are condemned to inactivity, whilst the inferior parts have to bear the whole burden of the down-pressed viscera. The iliac region is laced in laterally, and here, too, the muscles fade away and the fat sinks downwards.
A single childbirth is sufficiënt to change permanently all these eleinents, which have been robbed of their resisting capacity, into a flabby, pendulous sack, and the birth itself causes the patiënt in question much more pain than was ever intended in the curse pronounced on woman after the Fall.
Pregnancies in normal conditions onlv leave permanent traces, when they are very numerous and occur frequently, one after the otlier. But when the body is tight-laced, the gradations are: wasp-waist, pointed shape of belly, difficult child-birth, pendulous stomach, second difficult child-birth, wrinkled pendulous stomach.
The beauty of the abdomen disappears quicker still, if it be tight-laced during pregnancy, whilst, on the other hand, it is preserved by being strongly compressed after child-birth.
The scars of pregnancy, if the elasticity of the epigastrium is sufficiënt, vanish entirely, or at any rate, in great part.
The abdomen passes at the groin in soft lines into the thighs; in the centre it is continued in the inons veneris. The slight, transverse fossa above it is at the same time the upper margin of the pubic liair. The growth of hair higher up is peculiar to man, and therefore a defect in woman.
It has already been indicated that the layman, influenced by the traditions of plastic art, feels disposed to consider the hair on the mons veneris as ugly. The doctor, who is accustomed to see it, finds it natural, and therefore not ugly, when it is moderately developed. A strong development of hair is a fault, because it



recalls animals and men, and thereby injures the female sexual character.
Brücke (1) has discussed in detail the boundary lines below the belly and the tliighs of a woman. He distinguishes two chief forms; in the one, the lines of separation form an acute angle between the mons veneris and the thighs, run steeply upwards and unite with the pelvic line that leads downwards from the spines; whilst, in the second form, the lines of separation form a more obtuse angle and run further downwards towards the thighs. whilst the pelvic line descending from the spines passes above into the furrow between the mons veneris and the umbilical region. The first form is conditioned by a slight inclination of the pelvis, high iliac fossae, and spines situated near one to another; the second by a pronounced inclination of the pelvis, broad iliac fossae, and spines placed far from one another. Now, as a pronounced inclination of the pelvis (Cf. Fig. 42), as well as a broad pelvis, are characteristic of the female sex, we may, without hesitation, give the preference to the second form.
Since, in this case, when there is a greater inclination of the pelvis, the rima vulvae also proceeds more downwards and backwards, it further follows that the form of the abdomen is the more normal and therefore the more beautiful, the less visible the pubic cleft is from in front in an upright attitude.
An example of the first form is afforded by Fig. 67, in which the pelvis has not yet attained the full female development. Fig. 75 gives an excellent development of the second form; it shows a trunk which is also entirely faultless in other respects. Richer (2) mentions a third line, that runs rather higher and transversely between the navel and the mons veneris, as characteristic of the female sex. I agree with him, but still I consider the line to be an artificial product, as I have only seen it together with other consequences of tight-lacing. (3)
(1) Brücke, Schönheit und Fe hier der menschlichen 6 e s t al t, p. 111 sq.
(2) Anatomie artistique, p. 188.
(3) Cf. Briicke, l.c. p. 87.



Fig. 75. Body of an Austrian woman, with bpautifnl boundary-lines between trunk and thighs.
The second line, which runs between the navel and the mons veneris, should, as Langer (1) also points out, only be visible at (1) Anatomie der aüsseren Formen p. 209.



the sides and should be Hattened to a sliallow furrow in the median line. It only becomes prominent when there is an excessive fattv formation.
The navel may be small or large, flat or deep, high or low. As a large navel is the outcome of a defective closing of the umbilical ring, a small navel must be beautiful, because it is the outcome of a better development. And as, in a woman, a large accumulation of fat about the navel, which at the same time deepens it, is one of her secondary sexual characters, a deep navel is preferable. The navel is lowest in a child, and, as the development of the body goes on it moves up higher and higher, in both sexes: a high position of the navel is accordingly a sign of good development.
With regard to a woman's navel, we may therefore describe it as faulty, if it is large, flat and low in position, and as excellent, when it is small, deep and high in position.
When there is a proper inclination of the pelvis, not more than the anterior third of the pudenda can be seen from in front, in an upright attitude. When the development is good, the labia form two elastic tuberosities which pass posteriorlv from in front and which, even when the legs are spread moderately apart, adhere to one another at the pubic fissure and cover the underlying parts. When the legs are stretched wide apart, the nymphae appear as a light-red, cock's-comb-like formation in the depths.
Any flapping of the pubic fissure or jutting-out of the nymphae over the labia are defects. The latter is a frequent occurrence, even in Europe. In such cases, the nymphae acquire a brown colour. Among Hottentot women, the defect is very common and verv pronounced; it is called in German the " Hottentottenschürze" (Hottentot-apron).
Back.
The back constitutes the common reverse side of the breast and belly. The beauty of its form depends first and foremost on the normal structure of the bony substratum; and the principles I have just laid down apply to it also.



■
The vertebral column must,, when looked at froni behind, be quite straight. Curvatures, which must be regarded as so many faults, may arise from rachitis, from an improper mode of life, especially an over-strain in the early years of life, with or without rachitis, or from tuberculous diseases of the vertebrae.
The vertebral column, in profile, should, in the upper part of the breast, bend a little backwards, in the lumbar part, forwards, whereby a slight roundness is produced in the region of the shoulders and a depression in the loins; tliis latter should be especially pronounced in a woman, because, taken together with the greater inclination of the pelvis, it forms a secondary sexual character.
An excessive roundness of the upper portion of the back, the so-called " round back ", is a defect. Where it exists, the thorax is tlirust right back, so that the breast becomes flat and the shoulders droop forward. It is well known (1) that a formation of the kind is hereditary in certain races, and that it is of especially frequent occurence among the Jews.
Fig. 76 exhibits the typical "round back".
Hoffa alleges that such laxity of attitude results mainly from weakness of will. But a glance at Fig. 26 teaches us, that a defective muscular development is bound to have the same eftect. In the one case. accordinglv, it should be possible to abolish the defect by muscular tension, in the other, it would not.
A too-pronounced depression in the lumbar region, a hollovv back, is also a defect, which must in turn cause a marked protrusion of the belly forwards and of the nates backwards. It happens physiologically in the later period of pregnancy, in which the preponderance of the greatly-distended belly is balanced by the backward-sinking of the upper part of the body; but it also happens in the case of all excessive inclination of the pelvis, as can especially be seen in inflammation of the hip-joint.
A hollow back goes hand in hand with feeble development of the dorsal muscles.
A curvature, such as is seen in profile in 1 ig. 42, may be regarded
as norm al.
(1) Cf. Hoffa. Orthopadische 0 h i r u r g i e, p. 221.



Fig. 76. Round back.
The spinous processen of the vertebral arch are clearly to be feit through the skin, and are partly visible, 011 the middle line of the



back; the seventh cervical vertebra is most prominent to the eye in the nape of the neck.
Lateral curvatures of the vertebral column are always accompanied by a defective formation of the thorax, as a consequence.
The thorax must be well and symmetrically constituted behind, as well as in front. If the breast is flat and the thorax is overarched, the shoulder-blades become too projecting, and the shoulders sink forwards. If, as when there is a tendency to consumption, the thorax is too long and too narrow, the shoulders sink down and thrust out the lower angle of the shoulder-blades. If it is unevenly developed, one shoulder-blade stands higher tlian the other, and the one angle is more distant or is more slanting in regard to the median line than the other.
Slight defects of the vertebral column, as well as of the thorax, may therefore be best judged bv the position of the shoulder blades.
Thus, in Fig. 77, we notice a low position of the right shoulderblade, together with a pronounced protrusion of its lower edge; it is the first sign of an incipient
curvature of the spine towards the convexity of the right half of the
Fig. 77. Low position of the right shoulder, in a case of incipient spinal curvature, in a young woman of 23, of DutchEnglish origin.
left, accompanied by a niarked



That excessive narrowness of the pelvis is bound to spoil the conformation of the back is proved by the fact, that the sanie relation must exist in the case of the back between the breadth of the shoulders, of the waist, and of the hips, as 011 the anterior side of the trunk, and that a diminution in the breadth of the hips abolishes the female sexual character.
But the sacrum is of especial importance. It is very much broader in a wonian than in a man, and contributes the more to the form of the back, since it lies close under the skin: to the right and left of it lie the posterior spines of the iliac crests that come from in front, and the distance between which gives the upper breadth of the sacrum, and must be at least 10 cm.
The more uniform the arch of the iliac crests, the better the arch of the back in the loins; and the latter arch must correspond to the infero-posterior arch of the ribs, in order to make a uniform tension of the muscles attached to it possible.
Whilst nearly all the lower-lying dorsal muscles run parallel with the vertebral column, and connect and round off the skeletal parts and allow their transitions to pass away, the higher-lying dorsal muscles, i. e. those precisely that give relief to the surface, all turn towards the shoulder (Fig. 65).
In order to understand the delicate relief of the dorsal muscles, an accurate knowledge of them is necessary; it is sufficiënt for our purposes to point out, that most of the muscles lead to the shoulder-blade and from there to the shoulder, but that the great trapezius muscle and the latissimus dorsi lie above on each side in such a way that, besides their own movements, the movements of the underlying scapular muscles are, though veiled to a certain extent, marked in them in changeful play.
Since the muscles proceed right and left from the centre, a groove will be formed between the bellies of the muscles, when the bodily development is good, and the groove will be the deeper the more the shoulders are thrown back. The groove ends flatly in the sacral region, because the bony structure is there attached to the skin. The relief of the back is completed by the skin with its padding of fat.



We shall deal later on with the distribution of the fat on the shoulders; as regards the rest of the back, it is important to note that, in a woman, a thick deposit of fat extends from the hips upwards over the iliac crests and accumulates greatly to the side of and above the sacral region in the loins, and so rounds them that they slope away to the hips in a uniform arch. Richer lias drawn especial attention to the fact and has pictorially recorded the sexual differences in tliis regard (Cf. Fig. 4 7). The iliac crest is always more manifestly visible in a man. The skin in the sacral region always adheres more closely to the bony substratum, but it adheres most closely in the region of the posterior spines, where, when the formation of fat is adequate, two dimples, the sacral dim pies, are formed, which are clearly visible in a sidelight, and are a characteristic sign of beautiful, female bodily form (Fig. 78).
It should be reckoned as characteristic of a well-constituted woiuan, that the distance bet ween those dimples is at least 10 cm. (breadth of the sacrum), that they are
uniformly round and not Ion gis h (broad arch of the pih-
I-'ig. 78. lieautifully modelled back of a young Javanese woman.



bone), and tliat their union with the upper end of the fissure between the buttocks makes an angle of 90" (greater shortness of the sacrum than in a man).
Fig. 79. Back of a Parisian woman Hattened by tight-lacin<,'.
The young Javanese woman, Muakidya (Fig. 78), shows this contiguration of the back, and in her case it is certain that she never wore corsets.
Tight-lacing, it is true, disfigures the back less and later in life



than the breast and abdomen, but still it has a slowly-increasing injurious effect, especially on the development and conformation of the longissimus dorsi. That is why women, who are used to corsets and leave them off for a time, complain of spinal neuralgia. The injurious effect is externally visible in the weakly-developed iliac region and the flattening of the middle dorsal furrow ; later on, the whole back becomes Hatter, the muscular relief disappears altogether, the shoulderblades stand out, and the sacral region becomes hollow.
Fig. 79, a young Parisian woman, shows the first stage, though the arcli is still wellpreserved.
Besides clinging to
the sacrum, the skin
Fig. 80. Back of a young woman of Scheveninsticks close to the gen, with well-formed sacral f'ossettes.
spinous processes in
the whole course of the vertebral column, so much so, that, in some rare cases, shallow dimples are formed there. The more



uniform the attachment is, the more clearly prominent the central dorsal furrow becoines, which is therefore dependent, on the one side, on a good attachment of the skin, and on the other side, 011 a strong development of the muscles and a proper convexity of the thorax.
Fig. 80 shows a very beautiful development of the back generally, and of the central dorsal furrow in particular; it also shows a fine, well-marked sacral fossette.
In Fig. 83, which is the side-view of the person represented in Fig. 75, the central dorsal furrow is especially well-developed. We see there, at the same time, that the beautiful form of the back coincides with that of the breast and belly, because the beauty of all those parts depends, on the whole, on the same conditions.
Connections of the Trunk with the Head and Limbs.
I have departed from the usual practice and treated, in the first place, of the head and the trunk: and it is only now that I am about to deal with the neck, as the limb connecting those parts of the body. But although, on the one hand, I cannot altogether avoid the risk of repeating myself, as also later on when I come to consider the shoulders, yet, on the other hand, I think I shall thereby gain in clearness. When the demarcations are undefined, it is, at best, difficult to draw a sharp line of separation, as I have already pointed out.
Neck.
By " neck * is meant the connection between head and trunk, and generally only the anterior side, the hinder part being described as the " nape ". The ideas are, in this instance, somewhat confused; anatomically, it seems best to describe the whole connection as neck; to call its posterior half, reaching to the shoulder-blade, the nape, and the anterior half, bounded by the clavicles, the bust.
In everyday usage, the two latter terms have, as a rule, much wider meanings; in satires about women's fashions the meaning of the word " bust " is extended as far as the navel.



The osseous basis of the neck consists in the cervical portion of the vertebral column, which is the sanie length in uil human beings, to a few millimetres. It proceeds in a gentle, anteriorly convex arcli.
The upper line of demarcation is formed, in front, by the lower jaw, behind, by the base of the skull; the lower line, in front, is formed by the clavicle and, in the suprasternal fossa, by the sternum, behind. by the ftrst thoracic vertebra, together with the first rib, which is attached to it, and by the shoulder blade. As can easily be seen by comparing Figs. 37 and 39, the posterior boundaries are higher than the anterior, so that the neck, as a whole, is bounded above and below by two planes which run obliquely forwards and downwards.
It obviously follows that, as the length of the cervical vertebral column is always the sanie, the apparent length of the neck depends solely on the position of the upper and lower lines of demarcation.
The neck seems short, when the lower jaw protrudes downwards, or when the clavicles and thorax are raised iu front and the shoulders at the sides.
Fig. 81 makes the relations clear.
With respect to the upper boundary, we already know that a woman's lower-jaw should be small and shallow; it is a female sexual character which lias an effective influence on the formation of the neck, as we sliall see.
The lower boundary depends, in the first place, on the formation of the thorax.
Woman has, contrary to man, a rather narrow, long thorax, so that the neck does not stand out so prominentlv from the arch of the thorax. But if, as in the case of the thorax of consumptive persons, the ribs run forwards and downwards and stand far apart, not onlv is the chest flattened, but the upper margin of the sternum is also bound to sink down, and, with it, the inner extremities of the clavicles. At the sanie time, the shoulders also descend on the sloping thorax, so that there is an apparently long, t li i n neck, which is characteristic of consumption and therefore abnormal.
But it must be remembered that a woman's clavicle is



distinguished by tlie fact that it is more delicate, straighter and less prominent than a tnnn's, and that, when the thorax is normally formed, it is closely attached to it and descends a little
Fig- 81. Female neck and shoulders in profile.
I, II, III, IV. First to fourth ribs. K, sternocleidomastoid muscle. M, trapezius muscle. D, deltoid muscle.
towards the shoulders. The defective formation, which produces the illusion of a long neck, may be perceived in the clavicles by the fact that, whilst the thorax is narrow and sloping, the curv at ure is more marked, so that they project more and the inner extremities are lower at the suprasternal fossae.



When there is early ossification through rachitis, the outcome is a bulky, broad thorax, which, however, is also frequently Hat and even depressed, accompanied by thickening and curvature of the clavicles.
The thickened and irregularly-curved ribs constitute, together with the prominent clavicles, a far thicker and buikier mass, which is at the normal level but makes the neck seem shorter and thicker through increase in mass. But, for the same reason, the shoulder bones at the same time project more, and in a more upward direction, vvhereby the shortness of the neck is further intensified.
We thus see that the formation of the neck, so far as the skeleton is concerned, finally depends on the smallness of the lower-jaw, the straightness and slenderness of the clavicles, and the proper, uniform convexity of the thorax.
We must accordingly reckon as defects; a strong development of' the lower-jaw in length and breadth, a pronounced curvature, thickening and projection of the clavicles, and a thorax which is too narrow and sloping, or too broad and bulky.
Among the muscles, it is mainly the sternocleidomastoid and the trapezius that affect the shape of the neck. Their course can be perceived from Figs. 81, 64 and 65.
The sternocleidomastoid runs on both sides from the suprasternal fossa and the inner edge of the clavicles upwards behind the ear. The anterior part of the neck betvveen them is occupied by the larynx, the trachea, the oesophagus, and the minor muscles surrounding them. The trapezius proceeds from the lateral extremity of the clavicle and upper margin of the shoulder-blade fanwise towards the vertebral column and the occiput. Their arch forms the line of the nape. The middle part of the clavicle is free between the two muscles, as can be seen in Fig. 60, and above that part, when the growth of the fatty cushion is inadequate, are formed those much-dreaded cavities, which are called in German Salzfiisser (salt-cellars).
The other muscles of the neck do not alfect its outward form. The two sets of muscles above-mentioned are visible whenever the
11



liead is moved, if the development is good and uniform; but when the liead is held straight, upright and frontvvays, thev are nierged in the uniform rounding of the neck, with the exception of the anterior attacliment of the sternocleidomastoid near the suprasternal fossa.
This latter should be clearly percepitible (Cf. Fig. 26); the lack of it indicates a swelling of the underlving thyroid glands, and, therefore, a disposition to goitre, which is morbid and ugly.
The skin of the neck is tender in front; in the nape, it is rather thicker and adheres more closely to the otlier soft parts. The underlying adipose tissue rounds ott' the form of the neck. On the anterior side, between the sternocleidomastoid muscles, it envelopes the lower-lying organs, of which the larynx is the most important. And since the pomum Adami projects considerably in a man, a flat, uniform convexity of larynx must be considered as a characteristic and special excellence in the female sex.
When talking of the liead, I mentioned that the deposit of fat accumulates largely on the sides in the buccal regions. When the lovver jaw is narrow, the fatty deposit passes evenly into that of the neck, so that \ve must regard the abolition of the submaxillarv angles and the soft transition of the cheeks to the anterior cervical sur face as female excellences, because tliey are suitable to the sex.
For the same reason, the outline in profile from the chin to the neck should be soft and form, ifpossible, an obtuse angle, as the opposite can onlv occur, when there is a pronounced masculine development of the lower jaw.
I have already spoken about the proper filling of the clavicular fossae.
When all these conditions are satisfied, the neck, starting from the cheeks, constitutes in front a uniformly-rounded surface, which graduallv gets broader, and which passes evenly without any sharp demarcation over the clavicles into the thorax.
Above the larynx are one or more horizontal furrows, the socalled * necklace of Venus"; they are a sign of proper tension, elastic skin and normal adipose tissue, and are always found in children and younf, well-nounshed individuals. Since they can only occui when



the forms are soft, they are an especial excellence of female formation.
These lightly-marked transverse lines over the larynx must not be confounded with the higher transverse folds, which form under a double-chin when there is an excessive development of fat.
The line of the nape, which reaches down to the shoulder, is, as I have said, formed by the upper arch of the trapezius, which spreads itself evenlv at the dorsum and the posterior region of the shoulder, and allows the nape to dovetail in soft lines with the dorsum and shoulders. Excessive development of the latter muscle in athletes constitutes the so-called " bull-neck ", and is therefore uglv in women. When there is a uniform development of the muscle, the skin, and the osseous basis, the nape should descend towards both shoulders in a uniform arch, and gradually become flat in the middle beneath the seventh cervical vertebra to the central dorsal furrow.
A thin neclc has been looked upon as a token of earlv'womanhood, and it has been asserted that even a single sexual connection is at once betraved by an increase of thickness in the neck. 1 ha\e not personally been able to corroborate the truth of tliis assertion.
Brücke(l) has refuted the idea that the circumference of the neck should be equal to that of the calf, and he has shown by measurement that, when development is uniform, the calt is alw ays thicker than the neck.
Shoulders.
The connection between the trunk and upper lirnbs is the shoulder. lts form depends, tirstlv, on the osseous substratum, about which we have already spoken in detail.
Normal proportions, therefore, require a good, uniform convexity of the thorax, a straight, tense clavicle that merges in the contour of the breast, and a well-litted, flat shoulder-blade.
The muscles, that lead from the shoulder-blade to the arm, aie all covered by the great scapular muscle (deltoid, Fig. 81), which, when the proportions are otherwise good, chiefly determines the lorm
(1) 1. c. p. 16.



of the shoulder. It rises from the lateral inferior margin of the clavicle and from the crest of the shoulder-blade, and is thus a continuation of the trapezius muscle beneath that bony ledge.
lts position and influence on the form of the shoulder are easily distinguishable in Figs. 64, 65 and 81 ; it is very beautifully developed in Figs. 27 and 92.
lts main use is to raise the arm and keep it in a raised position. The great pectoral muscle, which is fixed near it to the bone of the upper arm, joins it directly in front.
On the proper development of the scapular muscle depends the uniform, strong rounding of the shoulders, which is readily to be distinguished from another kind of roundness of the shoulder that is due to excessive accumulation of adipose tissue. The latter is a sign of more mature age and therefore a defect, because it conceals the underlying bellies of muscle.
The beautiful form of the shoulder may be produced by muscular exercise, raising the arm etc., and may also be maintained thereby. Brücke(l) points out that the Albanian women, who carry their burdens on their heads or raised arm, have especially beautiful shoulders.
On the proper formation of these muscles, which, in normal proportions, implies an analogous growth of the rest of the muscles, depends a development of the female shoulder, which manifests itself more or less clearly even in repose; it consists of one or two fossettes at the point where the skin is more closely attached to the crest of the shoulder-blade, at the boundary between the trapezius and the scapular muscles.
When the arm is raised, and therefore the scapular muscle is shortened and thickened, those fossettes become a half-moonshaped furrow, which forms about the posterior and superior point of attachment of the muscle. (Cf. Fig. 159, right arm).
This phenomenon is therefore to be regarded as a sign of good muscular formation, and should be considered a beauty.
The position of the shoulders is very changeable. The shoulders
(1) 1. c.



of every individual rise and fall with every breath. Each movement of the arm alters the outline and position of the shoulders. (Cf. Figs. 64 and 65).
So, for purposes of comparison, we should always insist on the symmetrical position of our subject, with arms hanging down; the movements, especially when there is lateral illumination, may give us valuable information as to the development of the muscles.
The armpit is only visible when the arm is raised. As I have already stated, its limits are marked, in front, by the lower margin of the great pectoral muscle, and, behind, by the outer margin of the great dorsal muscle. Inwardly it is provided with a thick cushion of fat, which is particularly strongly developed between the pectoral muscle and the thorax. lts norinal formation depends on the proper development of the muscles constituting it, and on the proper convexity of the thorax.
The skin in the armpit is, owing to the great mobility of the arm, very loosely attached to the substratum, whilst, at the shoulder, it is rather more closely united to the underlying muscles.
As regards the hairiness of the armpit, what lias already been said as to the hairiness of the rest of the body holds good. A delicate down is normal, as a sign of maturity, and therefore beautiful: great hairiness is ugly in a woman, because it is reminiscent of the male and animal.
Hips and buttocks.
The osseous basis of the hips and buttocks consists in the pelvic hollows of the os sacrum, which are separated from one another in the middle by the sacrum, that thrusts itself in like a wedge.
The fernale sex is characterized by a broad and low pelvic hollow of the os sacrum, by a sacrum which is broad and at the same time short in its upper part, and a pronounced pelvic inclination, by which a depression of the back is produced.
When the bodily formation is good, the osseous basis must satisfy those requirements, and, further, the pelvis must be symmetrical and not be marked in any way by rachitis.



Exteriorly, beneath the skin, there is only the upper margin of the pelvic hollow of the os sacrum, the crest, which is most manifestly perceptible at the anterior spine, and should go backwards in a uniform arch which is liigher at the side; its posterior extremity is recognisable by the fossettes I have already mentioned above the posterior spines.
The latitudinal measurements, of which I have spoken, hold good for the appreeiation of the correct proportions.
The anterior muscles of the hips extend in depth from the pelvis to the tliighbones, so that, taken toffether with the femoral muscles, they form a mass, which is sharply separated from the belly by the crural arch. When the thigh is bent, the line of demar/<!i+inn Bpcnmps still more
Fier. 82. Folds of the skin over left hip, . ,
g in a bent position of the pelvis. prominent.
But, on the other hand, the posterior part of the hips receives its shape chiefly from the great gluteal muscles (cf. Fig. 65), which proceed, as a great mass of flesh, from the hinder-part of the crest and the exterior edge of the sacrum to the postero-exterior surface of the thigh.
The inferior boundary of the sacral triangle is at the same



time strongly expressed by the upper attachment of those muscles. The boundary extends from the sacral fossectes to the upper end of the cleft, and there meets the opposite boundary at right angles.
Within the triangle, the skin clings closely to the basis, so that only a moderate developing ot fat can take place there.
As female forms tend to be round, the development of the fatty deposit in this particular region is of great signifiance.
The peculiar formation of the female hip is clearly recognisable therebv even in front. When the pelvis is lightly bent towards the opposite side (position hanchée), the contour ot the thigh proceeds in a soft line high above the navel, so that if there is a moderate deposit of fat and the skin is not too elastic, one or two transverse skin-
folds are formed in the Fig g3 Profile of Fig. 75 with
waist, whenever the lower beautiful hips.
thoracic margin presses from
above, as is the case in the inclined position of the pelvis illustrated by Fig. 82.



Contrarily to what takes place in a man, the large fatty deposit in a woman proceeds laterallv over the broad and more level crests without interruption up to the lumbar region (Cf. Fig. 66), whereby the hips appear still broader and higher,.and give additional prominence to the female sexual character.
Accordingly, when the bodily conformation is good, the interval between the hips and the waist, viewed sideways, should constitute an evenly-rounded surface, but, about the condyle of the femur where the skin again clings closelv to the substratum, it should be a flat, halfround cavity. Such formation can be clearly seen in persons who are otherwise thin (Fig. 84). The transition from the thigh to the hip is very beautiful and uniform in
Fig. 83.
Below the gluteal muscle, the skin is attached to the ischium by very powerful connective tissue, so that the attachments on both
Fig. 84. Roundness of hips in a young Viennese woman.



sides meet above in a half-circle in the cleft and forni, in a kind of way, two pockets of skin, in which the gluteal muscles are
Bnl- 00 /ion l\u 
v>m/iuotu. j<ui, ito v(iu wv
seen from Fig. 65, the muscles do not occupy the whole space, which, for the rest, is furnislied with a very elastic, abundant padding of fat. This fat, combined with the muscles, gives great prominence and roundness to the buttocks. The latter correspond to the form of the pelvis, and in a normallybuilt woman are broader, lower and rounder tlian in a man, and project more, in harmony with the greater inclination of her pelvis.
Accordingly, besides a proper formation of the pelvis, a strong muscular frame, an elastic deposit of fat and an elastic skin all contribute to a beautiful shape of the buttocks.
The more elastic the skin, the more the skin-fold beneath the buttocks is stretched, and
tlip ninrp fpnsfilv Hifi ldiftnr.ks
proiect over it: and as, '' §5. Girl oi 12, with female forms
in course of growth.
moreover, when the skin is
elastic, it is firmly attached in the environment of the condyle of the femur, the fatty deposit has to spread more towards the centre and thus causes a distinct closure of the buttock-cleft, together with a simultaneous deepening of it.



The lower transverse folds change with the attitude; the more the leg is raised in an outward direction, or the pelvis is lowered on one side, the more the fold slants downwards; and, at the same time, it is flattened more and more towards the outside (Cf. Fig. 79). This is still more the case when the thigh is bent forwards. When it is much bent, the fold disappears entirely.
Exteriorly, the fold gradually merges in the surface of the thigh.
A second, rather shallow told often occurs beneath the latter. It is an excellence, as it is only found in women, and only in women who have an elastic skin and a springy padding of fat.
This fold can easily be distinguished from behind, when the light is properly thrown upon it (Fig. 79); in profile it lends the outline a characteristically feminine appearance, by procuring the transition
Fig. 86. Sanioan girl, liack-view. From the Leyden ethnographical museum.



from the buttock to the thigh in a softer angle, which is twiee broken (Fig. 83\ whereas the transition is much more strongly accentuated in a man, in spite of the smaller size ot his nates.
The back-view of a young Samoan woman, presented in Fig. 86, shows a very fine formation of the buttocks, as well as of the back generalij. Although the development of fat is moderate, the soft female rotundities are well expressed in the youthfully elastic skin. The sacral fossettes and the quadratic form of the lumbar rhomb are also well developed (Cf. Figs. 78 and 80).
All departures from the given forms must be regarded as faults. A too-pronounced cleft, a too-small arching of the buttocks as a result of inadequate development of fat, an excessive projection and confusion of the forms as a result of excessive deposit of fat, and folds leading noticeably downwards in the case of a narrovv pelvis with a high sacrum; all these are faults
iirKinli fnllniir i-linmoul 1'ÜC -ft*/Uil
which follow of themselvestrom Fig. 87. First signs of decadence. what has been said above.
And here it should be added than an excessive development of



fat always goes hand in hand with diminution of the elasticity of the skin, so that the exuberant masses hang flabbily down. A local fatty accumulation of the kind is very often the result of tight-lacing, by which the fat is pressed away from the lumbar region. (1)
Ificher has pointed out that an abnornial accumulation of fat at the hips and buttocks is, in a greater or lesser degree, of pretty frequent occurrence in European woman. Tight-lacing seems to me, as I have said, to be a causal factor of great importance.
If leanness follows after considerable corpulence, it manifests itself in the nates by the fact that the skin, as the padding of fat disappears, forms at the inner angle into slight transverse folds.
Fig. 87 shows this in a small degree on the left side. Incipient tliinness is visible in the same figure through the pronounced projection of the shoulder-blades. as well as by the noticeable convexity of the lower part and the falling of the breasts.
Such signs are like the first falling leaves, that herald the approach of autumn.
They spring up verv early among the short-lived artists' models, to which class the young woman belongs.
When the tliinness is greater, only the emaciated bundies of the gluteal muscles are finally prominent beneath the skin, vvhilst the last deposit of fat hangs down in two flaccid bags of skin near the gaping cleft.
Richer, in bis figure * La paralysie agitante," has excellently expressed this, in addition to otlier tokens of old age.
C. Upper Limbs.
We already know, in regard to the relations of the upper limbs to the rest of the body. that when they are of the riglit length, the wrist of the arm when it hangs down is about on a level with the pudenda. whilst the elbow approximately reaches the level of the waist.
Further, the distance of the shoulder-joint from the elbow-joint
(1) Anatomie artistique, p. 86.



is the same as from the opposite nipple, and the distance from the elbow-joint to the wrist is the same as from the nipple to the navel.
The length of the hand is equivalent to the distance from the navel to the hip-joint, and is, besides, one-ninth of the length of the body, according to Langer.
A precise research into all the details, such as lias been carried out by Richer, Langer and Briicke, demands very wide anatomical knowledge, to which, for our purposes, we should have to add an equally precise knowledge of morbid manifestations. I will not assume that the reader has such knowledge, nor will I over-tire him with a mass of details; so I confine myself to the most important, most frequent and most easily recognisable defects.
In the case of the extremities, the upper as well as the lower, just as in the case of the other parts of the body, the form depends in the first place on the formation of the skeleton.
The skeleton in the upper-arm, as in the thigh, consists of one hollow bone; in the fore-arm and the leg, of two.
In all these hollow bones, the influence of rachitis makes itself most frequently feit as a disfiguring agent, and always in the same cliaracteristic way.
As I have said, the essence of rachitis consists in an abnormal softness of the bones, which is followed by an abnormal deposit of hard bony stuff.
We have to distinguish in the hollow bones a slender long middle-piece (the diaphysis), and two short thick extremities of joints (the epiphyses). The effect of rachitis manifests itself in the hollow bones by the fact that the diaphysis is only a little shorter and thicker, but is more or less markedly curved; whereas a mucli greater increase in thickness takes place in the epiphyses, which also affects more or less the curvature of the surfaces of the joints, and thereby the position of the various parts of the limbs to one another.
We cannot perceive in the arm the thickening of the head of the humerus at the shoulder, because of the overlying muscles; it is easier to perceive a curvature of the diaphysis, and quite easy to perceive the thickening of the lower end at the elbow, which



attracts attention, especiallv on the inner side, owing to the larger ruass of bone.
The consequence of the pronounced swelling of the inner extremity of the joint, which is naturally thick, is that the articular surface of the elbow proceeds more than normally in a line that runs outwards. The result is that the fore-arm is attached crookediy, so that, wlien the wliole arm is extended, the fore-arm slants outwards.
We have, therefore, to reckon as defects, caused bv rachitis, of the bone of the upper-arm : thickening of the elbo w-joint, especially in the breadth and at the inner margin; and crooked insertion of the fore-arm (Cf. Fig. 24, right arm).
When we lay the hand on the opposite shoulder, we feel in the forearm a straight bony ledge, which runs from the elbow to the little-finger-side of the hand, viz. the outer edge of the ulna. Rachitis manifests itself similarly in that bone by a thickening of the extremities of the joint.
The upper extremity ends in a roundish knob (olecranon), which, when the arm is extended, sinks into the humerus. When the development is good, a dimple is seen in the skin, which clings close at the spot; but, when there is a thickening of the olecranon, through displacement of the skin, one or more folds are produced.
The lower extremity is the capitulum, at the little-finger-edge of the wrist, whose spherical thickening has already been mentioned as one of the cliaracteristic signs of rachitis (Cf. Fig. 24 left arm, and Fig. 25 do.).
The second bone of the forearm, the radius, is covered by the muscles in its upper course, but its broad lower-end lies at the wrist near the capitulum, and gives the wrist a bulky broad shape when there is rachitic thickening.
We may, accordingly, name as defects of the fore-arm occasioned by rachitis: thickening of the wrist with spherical projection of the capitulum: and thickening of the superior capitulum, with formation of folds at the poster ior side of the elbow when extended, and pointed projection of the elbow when flexed.



But a pointed elbow (Fig. 88, left arm) may arise not onlv from rachitis, but also from other enlargements of the olecranon, e.g. through much muscular work in early youth; yet, as in general, so also in such cases, it cannot be made out with certainty, how far the softness of the bones is caused by youthful age. how far 1 \xt vo^liitic PrnhnVilv tlip 
simplest explanation is that to which Vierordt himself is inclined, viz., that the slighter forms of rachitis actually occur more often than people are generally disposed to believe.
In order to determine the proper position of the arm-bones to one another, the arm should hang down at full length, and the hand should be so turned that the palm is in front (supination). Next, a straight line, which connects the middle of the shoulder and elbow joints, should be produced so as to pass between the fourth
and fifth fingers (Fig 89, Fig 88. Pointed elbow.
supination). Photograph by Dr. G. Klein.
Brücke, Richer etc., take it for granted, especially in the case of a man. that the prolongation of the line does not meet the wrist at all, so that, according to them, the crooked insertion of the forearm is normal. In appears, in fact, that, as a rule, a man's forearm, probably in consequence of the more powerful working of the muscles, makes a more pronounced angle than a woman s. Still, I have convinced mvself of the fact, that the configuration accepted by



Merkel as normal in well-made women occurs sufficiently often.
If, in the same position, the hand is turned with its back in front (pronation), the ulna and the radius cross eaeli other, but in such a way that the lower edge of the radius goes more inwards than the ulna does outwards. In that position, the prolongation of the above-mentioned line ends in theindex-finger (Fig. 89, pronation).
Fig. 89. Brachial axis in pronation and supination.
Under-development of the olecranon causes in extension a too pronounced backward flexion of the forearms, an over-extension which must also be regarded as a defect of frequent occurrence (Brücke).
^ext to the bones, it is the muscles that determine theform of the arm- In the upper-arm, it is, in the first place, the great scapular muscle. which is thrust laterallv between the flexor muscles that run forwards and the extensor muscles that run backwards.



The muscles of the forearm constitute together a uniform ball of flesh, which is thickest just beneath the elbow, and ends narrow towards the wrist, in thin sinews.
When the muscles are well-developed, therefore, there should appear a uniform lateral convexity of the shoulders, an anterior and posterior convexity of the upper-arm, as well as a cylindrical convexity of the fore-arm, which tapers dowmvards.
Whilst an excessive convexity of the muscles, or even the projection of single muscular bundies calls to mind a male formation and is therefore a fault in a woman, a weakly development of the brachial muscles, on the other hand, which is unfortunately a very common occurence, should be denounced as a sign of uneven bodily growth (Cf. Fig. 84).
A woman's skin is, especially in the upper-arm, tenderer than a man's; the fatty deposit is more abundant, and the arm receives thereby a more rounded form.
As, however, a large accumulation of fat, especially in the upper arm, and shoulder, is a sign of mature age, a round female arm is only beautiful, when the convexity of the muscles can be perceived under the skin.
At the elbow, and a little below it, the skin is attached somewhat closer to the osseous basis, whereby a slight flattening is caused in the forearm, and a deep dimple at the elbow when it is stretched. The left arm of Fig. 90 has a good shape.
Fig. 91 may serve as a pattern of a beautifully moulded arm with strongly-developed and yet soft, genuinely female forms.
A small hand is considered beautiful. But, from the anatomical standpoint, we only require it to be one-ninth of the bodily lengtli. A woman's hand is, therefore, always bound to be smaller and more delicate than a man's, in relation to the length of the body and the skeletal structure.
We must regard as defects, a broad, bulky surface of the hand, thick, short, bent fingers, and great prominence of the knuddes and joints.
All such defects can be referred back to rachitic disfigurements, and I am inclined to regard them as such in by far the larger number of cases.
12



The broader the terminal phalanxes are, the broader, shorter and flatter the nails must be.
The muscles are not verv prominent in the hand: 011 the contrary,
i'ig. 90. Munich girl, with beautifully-rounded arni.
a soft fullness, due to the layer of fat, is rightly prized as a female sexual character, which, when the elasticity of the skin is adequate, gives rise to dimples over the joints.
We may, accordingly, reckon among a woman's excellences: a narrow, softly-rounded hand, with dimples on the



Fig. 91. Swabian woman, with beautifully-moulded arm and shoulder.
articular surface, straight, tapering fingers and arched nails whose length exceeds their breadth. The Viennese girl of Fig. 92 shows powerful and yet femininely-



rounded arms. The dimples over the digital joints are very beautifully marked on her left hand; and the attachment of the arms to the shoulder, particularly 011 the riglit side, must be admitted to be a model of beauty.
Fig. 92. Strong, femininely-formed arms and hands of a Viennese girl.
Various savants have debated as to whether and how often the index-finger of human beings is longer than the ring-finger. As, in the case of the monkey, the second finger is always shorter than the fourth, the greater length of the second finger may be held to be a token of higher development.



Casanova, Mantegazza and others take credit to themselves for their discoveries in this connection, and consider the greater length ot' the second finger to be a rare and beautiful phenomenon.
Fig. 93. Viennese girl (Plate I, 3 years later). Perfect moulding of the hands.
Mantegazza lias adopted the same point of view in bis " Physiologv of Woman which lies before me in the German translation of 1894. So that he seems not to know that Biaune (l) pointed out, as
(1) Festgabe für Carl L u d w i g. Vogel, Leipzig, 1874.



earlv as 1874, with the help of numerous measurements, that the apparent shortening of the second finger is mainly based on its wrong position with regard to the raetacarpal bones, and that, on an average, the second finger of 70 per cent of the persons measured by him was in fact the longer.
The Viennese woman of 20, represented in Fig. 93, to whom we shall have occasion to refer later on, displays a hand which combines in itself all the excellences mentioned. But anyhow, it remains true that tliis " sign of higher evolution " occurs oftener in woman than in man.
D. Lower Limbs.
A mistake is frequently made in judging the length of the legs in relation to the trunk; namely, the entire length of the legs is not taken into consideration.
As I have already said, the trunk descends lower in the middle, whilst the legs terminate obliquely on the outside towards the hips.
If Richer be followed and the length of the body be reckoned as equivalent to 71/* heads, the length of the trunk together with the head, wlien measured in the centre down to the rima vulvae, is equivalent to 4 heads, and the length of the leg, measured to the hip-joint, is also equal to 4 heads. The legs, therefore, exceed half the length of the body by a quarter of a head, and stand by so inuch higher than the centre of the body.
It is exactly the same in a man as in a woman. I he difference between them consists in proportions which are the outcome of the form of the pelvis. In a man it is narrow and high, so that the middle part of the trunk, which is thrust between the legs, runs lower down in a more acute angle, in consequence of which the middle of the body apparently also descends lower in the trunk. In a woman, on the other hand, the pelvis is broad and flat, the central part of the trunk, which is thrust between the legs, descends less far. in an obtuse angle, and so the middle of the body aparently stands higher than in a man.
Owing to the fact that the outline of the leg continues into that



of tlie hips, which appear narrower and longer in a man, because of the steep, high iliac fossae, the impression of a man having a longer leg is yet more intensified.
According to Richer, the length of the leg may be reckoned at 4 heads ; according to Fritsch-Schmidt, the length of the thigh is equal to the distance of the hip-joint from the nipple on the other side, and the length of the tibia is equal to the distance of the hip-joint from the nipple of the same side.
The length of the thigh is about equal to the length of the tibia togetlier with the height of the foot.
It was formerly believed that, in a woman, the neck of the femur runs more horizontally to the head of the femur than in a man. Langer (1) has pointed out, that this is incorrect, and that the more or less horizontal course of the neck of the femur has nothing to do with sex. It is extremely probable that the horizontal neck of the femur and the consequent shortening of the thigh in most cases, both in man and in woman, should be referred back to the pressure of the burden of the body, when there is a disposition to rachitis.
Se far as the skeleton is concerned, what has been said about the poorer classes holds generally good of the legs.
We have to note as defects produced by rachitis: thickening of the lower articular surface of the femur especially on its inner side, and, conformably with it, thickening of the knee joint and crooked insertion of the lower, leg in the thigh. Also thickening of the tibia and fibula at the knee and the ankle-bones, resulting in a bulky, thickened ankle-joint and crooked insertion of the foot in the ankle-joint, and a low position of the large inner ankle-bone. To this should be added, in the case of the leg, the pressure of the bodily weight and the consequently marked curvature of the central parts of the hollow bones. The general result of all such morbid cbanges is the shortening of the total length of the leg. (2)
(1) 1. c. p. 229.
(2) One of E. Dubois's observations is very instructive (A r c h i v f ü r Anthropologie, XXV, vol. 4). He found that the weight of the brain



According as various factors, such as business-occupation or the carrying of a more or less heavy weight have cooperated, we have the various forms of abnormal legs, the knock-kneed and the bandy-legged condition etc., and, in the foot, a more or less developed flat-foot.
Grosser defects of these kinds are easy to perceive. The question here chiefly is, liow to be able to distinguish the lesser degrees of such anomalies.
It has already been stated, that one may ascertain that the lower limbs run straight from the fact that, when a position is taken up like that represented in Fig. 30, the legs must touch in fourpoints, naniely, the upper third of the thigh, the knee, the calf, and the inner ankle-bones. In women who are stoutly developed, the thighs may even be closed together throughout their length, without its being a defect.
A further method, propounded by Mikulicz, is to ascertain by measuring that the second toe, the middle of the ankle-joint, the middle of the knee- and the middle of the hip-joint lie in a straight line (Fig. 94).
As the position of the hip-joint is often difficult to determine in a living woman, the centre of the crural arch may be taken instead.
If the patella turns inwards from the said line, the result is a knock-kneed condition, a very common defect in women, which, when it occurs in a trifling degree, is regarded by some persons as normal, like the crooked insertion of the fore-arm, because it is of such extraordinary frequency.
The knock-kneed condition should not be confounded with an in-turning of the knee caused by flexing, as seen in Fig. 1. The extended right leg of the figure shows that it is perfectly straight.
Yet, in spite of oneself, one is inclined to regard the genuine
is alwaj's in an exact proportion to the length of' the ischium, but not to the total length of the human body. The inference is pretty clear, that a want of proportion in the latter case is not caused by disturbances in the course of development, but by shortenings of the lower extreniities due to disease, and in most cases to rachitis, and that such shortenings are accordingly of uncommon frequency.



knock-kneed condition with lenience, since it reminds one of the justly-admired position which expresses so beautifully a woman's sense of shame.
Fig. 94. Determination of straightness Fig. 95. Brücke's line.
of leg, according to Mikulicz.
For the sarae reason, the deviation of the knee outwards, the bow-legged condition, is considered all the ug'lier in a woman.
A combination of the knock-kneed and the bow-legged conditions, such as appears in Fig. 24, is what apparentlv agrees with Mikulicz's



straight line. The inward turning of the knee is balanced by the leg, which tirst turns outwards and then again inwards, so that the ankle-joint, knee- and hip-joint lie approximately in a straight line.
When the anterior aspect of the leg is good, the posterior aspect must also be so. But, in the lateral aspect, there may be an anomaly caused by rachitic curvature, as well as by defects in the ligaments of the knee, anomalies which, according to Briicke, can be discovered by a line drawn from the condyle of the feniur to the outer ankle-bone (Fig. 95).
This line should meet the knee in the middle of its breadth, when the leg is well extended. If it meets the knee more forwards, over-extension takes place, or a deviation of the leg backwards, owing to the ligament of the knee being too long; whereas, if the line meets the knee too far back, the knee is too far bent in front.
As, on the one hand, a man's muscles are more strongly developed than a woman's, whilst, on the other hand, an absolutelv thicker tliigh is an important secondary sexual character, even when a girl is not yet grown up, the thickness of the female thigh must be chiefly set down to a larger layer of fat, and accordingly the forms of the muscles should be much less prominent than in a man.
Therefore a flat thigh, which, corresponding to the muscling that is most powerfully developed in front and behind, causes the leg to appear narrower from the front and broader from the side, is proper to man: whilst a round thigh, which, from every aspect, shows the sanie soft form, is peculiar to woman.
The muscular system only plays a part in woman in so far as the thigh, corresponding to the flesh, should be most convex in the upper third, i. e. below the condyle of the femur.
It must be considered a fault, when there is so great an accumulation of fat, if the outline of the thigh runs from the hip to the knee in a straight or hollow line.
Tlie contours of a woman's knee are softened by a large accumulation of fat; but it must not be excessive; othenvise it is reminiscent of a rachitic conformation.
That which is true of a woman's thigh, is also true of her calf;



whilst one must be able to distinguish the muscles in a man s calf, in a woman's they are united in a uniform roundness bv a large layer of fat; but tliis roundness has nevertheless its greatest
Fig. 96. Beautifully formeil calves and feet.
circumference in the upper third, corresponding to the underlying
muscular ligaments (Fig. 9(3).
The shape of the calf, as I have already stated, is often spoilt
bv unsuitable garters.
A slender ankle is a great excellence, beeause, on the one hand, it is based on a delicate structure, and forms one of the female secondarv sexual characters, and, on the otlier hand, it is



one of the most important signs for the exclusion of rachitic cases.
A narrow wrist and narrow ankles are the most conspicuous tokens of a good breed, just as narrow pasterns in a horse.
The foot is, nest to the waist, the part of the body which has to endure the greatest disfiguration through improper clothing.
As regards its size, what I have already said of the hand, is also true of the foot. It must be in proportion to the size of the body, and, according to Quetelet, should be contained in it from six to seven times at the maximum. The length of the foot is therefore greater than that of the head; according to an old rule, the length of the foot is equal to the circumference of the clenched fist.
The most common of all defects of the foot generally is flatfootedness, which is mostly occasioned by rachitis.
Whilst in a well-made foot, the inner arch should be such that a little bird, even if only a verv small one, can lie under it, the arch sinks down in a flat-foot, and the sole lies flat on the ground. One may ascertain the presence of a slight degree of flat-foot, by pressing the foot, moistened with water, on the ground (Fig. 97).
A well-shaped arch is accompanied by a high instep.
We have therefore to claim a well-shaped arch and a high instep as excellences in a foot.
The feet in tig. 96 display a correct arch and corresponding instep; they may be taken as patterns of a beautifully made, although not too delicate female foot.
Since in the foot, just as in the hand, the skeleton is much less covered by soft portions than it is in other parts of the body, its formation has a pre-dominant effect on the outward form.
W hen the skeleton of the foot is powerful, large and recalls the male, it is faulty, just as when it is bulky, thick and disfigured by rachitis; and, for both reasons, a delicate, narrow foot, with lonir.
O "
narrow toes, is an ornament of a woman.
The second of the toes is the longest, when the development is proper. Braune (1) has pointed out that the second toe is the longest
(1) Festgabe von C'arl Ludwig.



even in the embryo, and that this is also the case in more than 70 per cent of adults.
The apparently greater length of the big-toe is due to the fact that the big-toe remains straight in the boot, whilst the otlier toes assume a claw-like posture, which makes them seem shorter.
Apart from this claw-like posture, the continuous pressure of over-tight boots produces an in-turning of the big-toe with noticeable projection of its thickened metatarsal joint.
Fig. 97. Impressions of a normal foot (a), and of flat feet (b, c, d),
after Volkmann.
This very common defect is especiallv conspicuous in Fig. 28.
Corns are not so mucli a defect as a despairing cry of Nature for better clothing, which generally passes unheard. The smallness of the space they occupy prevents them from much disfiguring the shape of the foot.
But it appears that Nature intends to take pity on sufl'ering humanity: Pfitzner (1) has, by a long series of investigations, establislied the fact that, in a large number of men, the little-toe, the favourite abode of corns, consists not of three but only of two bones; wherefrom he concludes that the human little toe is in process of degeneration, and will gradually vanish in the course ot centuries.
(1) Quoted in Havelock Ellis, Man and W o m a n.



Even here the women seem to beat the men in development; for Pfitzner found in 100 women, 41, in 100 men only 31, whose little-toe possessed only two bones.
The same writer proved that a woman's big-toe is also much smaller iii proportion than a man's.
We may therefore record as signs of good formation in female toes; long second toe, short first and very short fifth toes.
We have now dealt with the most important points for judging the female lower limbs; it only remains to be added that their proper formation, as well as possible defects, may easily be detected in the walk, especially in the posterior aspect.
Walker, in Chapter 21 of his Beauty of Wonian, describes in an amusing way, which is, however, seriously meant, the "External indications; or Art of determining the precise figure, the degree of beauty, the mind, the liabits and the age of wonian notwithstanding the aids and disguises of dress."
I can only recommend anybodv, who is interested in the subject, to read his naive account.
XI.
Suryvc of the conditions of normal bodily formation.
I hope I may have succeeded in convincing the reader who has followed my utterances thus far, that the conception of female beauty is not solely a matter of taste, and that there are several indisputable facts which determine the conception, independently of the individual idea. The path is new, much is yet obscure: but I am convinced that yet more laws will be laid down, so as to circumscribe more sharply the general conception of beauty. I have intentionally avoided, as much as possible, introducing anatomical



details, in order not to obliterate the general impression by an excessive abundance of them.
If we review the facts adduced up 1ill now, we see, first of all, that we possess a series of measurements, whose size and mutual relations are inexorably prescribed by Nature. A body which possesses the required measurements is normal; every deviation from them is a defect.
Variations within the normal limits determine individuality.
In order to judge the normal bodilv structure we have to settle, as the most important measurements:
1. Heiglit of body.
2. Half length of body from above, in order to fix the middle
O %/ '
of the body.
3. Heiglit of head.
4. Length from nose to os pubis. (Fritsch-Schmidt's modulus).
5. Circumference of chest.
6. Breadth of temples.
7. Breadth of shoulders.
8. Breadth of waist.
9. Breadth of hips.
10. Distance between the nipples.
11. Pelvic measurements.
a) Anterior breadth of iliac spines.
b) Breadth of iliac crests.
c) Breadth of condyle of the femur (breadth of hips).
d) Posterior breadth of iliac spines.
12. Length of foot.
In order to turn these measurements to account, we have the foliowing equations:
1. Heiglit of body — 7 Va — 8 heights of liead =10 heights of face = 9 lengths of hand = 6—7 lengths of foot = 10'a submoduli.
2. Breadth of temples = heiglit of face.
3. Length of arm = 3 heights of head.
4. Length of leg = 4 heights of head = upper length as far as the step.



5. Breadth of shoulder = 2 heights of head.
„ Chest circumference X length of body . . , „, , .
0. g— = weight of body in
kilogrammes.
The relation of the several measurements among themselves is determined by the difference in any given case. The amount of the difference should be:
1. Bet ween shoulders and hips at least 4 cm.
2. „ shoulders and waist „ 16 ,
3. „ hips and waist „ 12 ,
4. „ condyle of the femur and crests „ 2.5 „
5. „ crests and anterior spines „ 3 „
So the first-named intervals are the larger ones in any given case.
We have, as the lowest estimate for a fixed measurement:
1. Distance between the anterior spines 26 cm.
2. „ „ the posterior „ 10 „
3. „ „ the nipples 20 „
Further relations are:
1. Length of forehead = length of nose = length of mouth and chin = length of ear.
Palpebral fissure is to fissura oris is to facial breadth as 2 : 3 : 5.
With the distance between the nose and the os pubis as modulus we are able, by the Fritsch-Schmidt method, to construct the measurements for all the bodily parts. As the latter agree with the rest of the normal measurements, we thus have a doublé check for judging the body under examination.
We should measure two angles :
1. The angle of the lower costal margin in the pit of the stomach.
2. The lower angle of the sacral triangle.
The former should be almost 90°, the latter exactly 90°.
There follows, moreover, as the result of our deliberations up till now, a series of bodily properties, whose presence must be regarded as an excellence, and whose absence as a defect.
First of all comes the effect of sex on the body, the female secondary sexual characters, the most important of which I have gathered together in the following table.



T a b 1 e I.
Female secondary sexual characters.
When well-developed. Excellences.
Neat, delicate bony frame.
Round forms.
Breasts.
Broad Pelvis.
Copious, long hair.
Straight, low boundary of pubic hair.
Scanty axillary hair.
No body-hair.
Tender skin.
Round skull.
Small faee.
Large orbital cavities.
High, narrow eyebrows.
Low, narrow lower-jaw.
Gentle transition from cheek to neck.
Round neck.
Small, elegant wrist.
Narrow hand, with long index-finger.
Round shoulders.
Straight, narrow clavicles.
Narrow, long thorax.
Slender waist.
Depressed sacral region.
Projeeting, arched buttocks.
Sacral fossette.
Round, thick thigh.
Low, obtuse pubic arch.
Soft outlines of knee.
Round calf.
Small, elegant ankle-joint.
Narrow foot and narrow toes.
Great length of second toe, and shortness of the fifth.
Broad anterior incisor-teeth.
When ill-developed. Defects.
Coarse, bulky bony frame.
Angular forms.
No breasts.
Narrow pelvis.
Thin, short hair.
High boundary of pubic hair, running
to a point.
Copious, long axillary hair.
Moustache and much body-hair.
Thick skin.
Angular skull.
Large face.
Small orbital cavities.
Low, bushy eyebrows.
High, broad lower-jaw. Sharply-detached neck, with prominent
lower-jaw.
Angular neck, with projeeting larynx. Large, coarse wrist.
Broad hand, with long ring-finger. Angular shoulders.
Curved, thick clavicles.
Short, broad thorax.
Absence of waist.
Straight sacral region.
Flat, small buttocks.
No sacral fossette.
Flat, thin thigh.
High, pointed pubic arch.
Sharp outlines of knee.
Angular calf.
Large, coarse ankle-joint.
Bulky, thick foot and broad toes. Great length of the first toe, and strong
development of the fifth.
Narrow incisor-teeth.
13



In connection with development, nutrition and mode of life, as well as with the influence of diseases, we get:
Tab
Excellences.
Symmetry of both halves of the body. Low position of the centre of the body. Normal bodily weight.
Smooth, elastie skin.
Uniform muscular-development.
Small, neat joints.
Straight palpebral fissures. Well-arched upper-lip.
Straight, even teetli.
Uniform roundness of the face.
Narrow, straight nose.
Round chin with dimple.
Rounded shoulders.
Straight vertebral column. Uniformly-arched thorax.
High-set, round, springy breasts.
Flat, round abdomen.
Arched back.
Straight upper limbs.
Round elbow.
Narrow, long, small hand.
Long second finger.
Arched, long nails.
Straight, long legs.
Narrow, long foot.
Straight big toe.
Long second toe.
Ie II.
Defects.
Asymmetry of both halves of the body. High position of the centre of the body. Too great or too small bodily weight. Flabby, wrinkly skin.
Uneven muscular-development.
Bulky joints.
Crooked palpebral fissures.
Frotruding upper-lip, thick upper-lip,
too small upper-lip (hare-lip). Sloping, irregular teeth.
Projecting cheek-bones, prominent
organs of mastication.
Broad nose, pug-nose, turned-up nose. Doublé chin, hatchet-chin.
Angular, excessively sloping shoulders. Curvature of (he vertebral column. Flat thorax, chicken-breast, cobbler's-
chest, funnel-chest.
Low-set, falling, flaccid breasts, pend-
ulous breasts.
Pointed stomach, swag-belly, frog-belly. Flat back, round back.
Crookedly inserted forearm, projection
of the capitulum.
Pointed elbow.
Short, broad large band.
Long fourth finger.
Broad, flat nails.
Short legs, bent legs, bandy-legs, bow-
legs, knock-knees.
Bulky, broad foot.
Big-toe bent inwards.
Long first toe.
This table could, without trouble, be made very much more complete; but it is sufficiënt to show how much material we have already got for judging the human body.



It may be left to the reader to look in the illustrations for defects, which have not in every case been nientioned. Of all the figures that have been reproduced hitherto, only two satisfy all the requirements, namely, Plate II and Fig. 75; the latter occurs in Fig. 83 in profile.
The Javanese girl (Fig. 29), in spite of the correct proportions of the rest of her body, does not satisfy our requirements. Like all her race, she lias a disproportionatelv large liead and an insufficiently developed formation of face.
On comparing the second Table with the first, it will be found that various defects, as well as excellences, are mentioned in both. The same defects may spring from different causes, like the symptoms of various maladies. The same symptom may be occasioned by tliis malady, or by that one; hut it is only by collecting the various symptoms in a given case and by careful eliminating, measuring, and pondering, that a distinct notion of the illness and its complications is attained.
XII.
Beauty of colour.
Hitherto we have confined our attention to the form of the female body. But, besides this, there is another important factor in female beauty to be taken into consideration, namely, colour. The question is how far we may be able in this case, too, to discover laws for the determination of beauty.
How much care and anxiety, how many tears and sleepless nights lias not a bad complexion cost many a voung girl, many a middleaged woman! And how many persons have devised and invented the most varied, and often harmful, medicaments for correcting a bad complexion, and have enriched themselves with the tributes of numerous, credulous victims!
The complexion plays the most important part in the general



opinion. Just as a pretty face blinds people to the blemishes of the body, even so a defect in form is readily overlooked and pardoned when there is beautiful colouring. A young woman, with fiery eyes and a skin like blood and milk, may have a puffy mouth with thick lips, a turned-up nose and little pig's eyes, and yet be pleasing, whilst another woman, with classical forms and a spotty skin is mercilessly condemned.
The general opinion may be explained by the observation previously recorded, that the eyes of most men are but little practised in taking in the form of things, whilst colour is forced upon the spectator everywhere; hence it comes that comparisons of the human body with other things in Nature are found to be much oftener connected with colour than with form.
For instance, the eye, according to its shape, is compared with the almond, with the myrtle leaf, or even with the jewel in a bracelet; according to its colour, it is compared with eyes of animals, the deer, the gazelle, the cat, the dog, the doe, and in a less flattering way, with the eye of a calf, pig, or shell-fish, and besides with flowers, such as the forget-me-not and lotus flower, with stars, coals, night, velvet, and many other things.
This habit of speech echoes the general feeling and thought.
Now, can any rules be laid down for arriving at an objective appreciation of the colour of the female body? We have first of all to point out, that our means for the establishment of a scientific standard of colour are much more limited than in the case of a standard of form. In the latter instance, we had at our disposal not only the sense of vision, but also that of touch, we could measure and we had also the accurate reproduction of form by means of photography to help us. In our present task we have to rely solely on the eye, so that we are exclusively confined to optie laws as thev affect our experiments.
It is not for us to discuss here in elaborate detail the laws according to which the many-coloured outer world is reflected in the human eye; we must also assume as known the lawrs of refraction, of contrasted or complementary colours which mutually combine to form white.



I recommend everybody who takes an interest in the subject, unless he tliinks of studying one of the many well-known technical treatises, to read the charmingly-written short description (which anyone can understand) with which Severin Scliroder lias prefaced liis book called "Die Farbenharmonie in der Damentoilette * (1). Here we must limit ourselves to discussing in broad outline tlie various influences tliat affect the colour of the female body.
The colour of the body is determined bv those parts which constitute its surface, i.e. first of all, the skin, the hair and the nails. It is next determined by parts of the body which are regularly or at any rate temporarily visible, e.g. the margin of the inucous membrane of the mouth, of the eyes and of the genitals 011 the one hand, and the eye-balls, the teeth and the tongue on the other.
How important even the more bidden of these parts are in the judgment of the outer world, is clear when one observes that even the most beautiful girl's face is distigured, if she cannot smile without showing she has bad teeth. How many young women there are who smile merely in order to exhibit their pretty teeth!
The most important of all these parts is the skin.
The skin has a dull, velvety gleam of soft smootliness. Poets compare it with ivory, alabaster and marble, but artists know how difficult it is to give marble or ivory the appearance of skin.
The surface is not uniformly smooth, but is picked out with numerous infinitesimal fissures, so that in some degree the skin forms a piece of the fiuest conceivable concrete network, and has a small-grained surface The smaller the grain, the more delicate is the dull sheen of the skin. In cases of bad nourishment, or illness, the skin becomes wan and dark, and when there is excessive sebaceous secretion it has a fat, shiny gleam.
To describe the colour of the skin is as hard as to reproduce it. It is compared with roses and lilies, milk and blood, wax and snow, even with new-born sheep, and the painter, in order to reproduce the shades of the human skin, uses, besides white, ver-
(1) Severin Schroder, "Die Farbenharmonie in der Damentoilette." Vienna, 1897. Berte & Greiger.



milion, cobalt and yellow ochre, all the other colours on his palette. The uppermost layers of the skin are dully transparent, so that all the subjacent parts communicate their colours to it, more or less, according to the thickness of the skin, and thus lay the foundation of the various shades of the skin. The dark-red veins appear bluish, and the brunette tone is a consequence of strong pigment-accuraulation in the coriutn, which shines through with a brownish colour. The more delicate the skin is, the more vivid will its colouring be.
The uncovered parts of the skin are more deeply coloured owing to the operatiou of cold and light. It is therefor that the face reddens, if one is much in the open air, whilst it looks pale in men who spend their lives in shut rooms.
The reason why the cheeks are always redder than the rest of the face is explained by the fact, that in that part the arterial blood supply is most plentiful and the skin most delicate. The cheeks remain red a long time after the rest of the face has turned pale.
When the skin is well nourished it is generally whitish, with a rosy tint; a yellowish or bluish colouration points to illness, but also to improper nourishment, poor in albumen.
The female skin is more delicate, thinner, of smaller grain and clearer than the male. So that in that respect the dark skin of a brunette may also be accounted beautiful, if it is delicate and small-grained; but, in any event, the first prize falls to the white skin of the blondes, because it is more differentiated from the masculine sexual character and gives the most marked expression to the secondary female sexual character.
Blemishes of the skin are, apart from the already-mentioned birth-marks, due in the first place to skin diseases, among which in former times small-pox caused the greatest havoc.
A pock-marked face is nowadays, tlianks to compulsory vaccination, one of the greatest rarities in Europe, but there are plenty of other skin diseases which, by leaving behind ugly scars, spoil the grain of the skin, interrupt the smooth surface and therebv cause more or less damage to the beauty of the skin. Skin diseases are



not solely responsible, however, for uglv skins. There are, for instance, in particular, tbe badly-made, tight dresses, which first of all produce red wheals and, when regularly worn, leave sore places and, afterwards, brown-coloured scars, which may often be found on the bodies of tight-laced women.
When the skin is not properly cared for, the sebaceous glands become clogged, acnes form in the face and on the throat; in other covered parts of the body the skin acquires the rough grain, which is characteristic of " goose-skinand the colour becomes dirty yellow to brown. All these disfigurements of the surface of the skin and of the complexion, which are produced by illness, unsuitable clothing, deficient care, and improper alimentation, have been dealt with in full by Paschkis (1) in a book which is very well worth reading, and in which the best known methods of combating the evil are given.
From what has been said we may set down, as the most important blemishes of complexion, dark colour, coarse grain, rough surfacöi pronounced sebaceous secretion, birth-marks, scars and furrow s due to compression, irregular pigmentation; as excellences we may mention, light colour, delicate grain, smooth surface, absence of scars, uniform pigmentation.
Next to the skin co mes the hair.
It has already been mentioned that any excess of bodily hair in a woman, which is reminiscent of the male and animal, is a fault, and that, as a contrast to the delicate down which covers the body and the face, a strong growth and great length of hair on the head is one of the loveliest ornaments of the female sex.
As a marked pigmentary accumulation is a character common to the lower races, a blonde head of hair may generally be held to be an excellence, especially in a woman, in whorn, owing tu the lesser contrast of blonde and white, the harmony of the more delicate formation is enhanced. But the darker colouring has the advantage in the eyebrows and eyelashes, because the breadth of the orbital cavities is thus made still more conspicuous.
(1) Paschkis, Kosmetik. Vienna, 1893, 2nd edition. Holder.



An adult woman has, besides the hair on her head and at her eyes, also hair in the arm-pits and at the mons veneris. This bodily hair, as Bartels has demonstrated by various observatioi/s, does not always match the colour of the hair on the head: it is sometimes lighter and sometimes darker.
We have already called attention to the fact that the hair on the female body is generally thought ugly, owing to certain artistic conceptions that have been wronglv interpreted and transferred into actual life; that, on the contrary, in Nature, the absence of hair on the body has as unpleasing an effect as excessive hairiness, and that the female formation is characterised by a moderate hairiness at the mons veneris and a yet smaller amount of hair in the arm-pits.
As regards colour, for the reasons stated above, preference must be generally given to a light colour, because it blends better with the softness of the female contours. This is also the case with the axillary hair, but in the case of the pubic hair, on the other hand, the breadth of the pelvis and the bluntness of the boundary line between the mons veneris and the thighs are more strongly emphasised by darker hair, therebv intensifying the female secondarv sexual character.
The ideal would therefore be most closely approached by light hair on the head, and in the arm-pits, and dark hair on the mons veneris and at the eyes.
Among many thousands of women I have onlv seen one who, in addition to otherwise perfect forms, possessed these excellences in the highest measure. She had a verv uniformlv pale complexion, accompanied by a very long, smooth, ash-blonde head of hair and very scantv, curly axillary hair, also ash-blonde. But in spite of her blue eyes, the lashes and eye-brows were black, and so was the moderately developed pubic hair.
I have several times met with blondes with black eyebrows and brown pubic hair.
The colour of the eyes depends entirely on the distribution of the pigment. If the pigment is exclusively behind the iris, the eye appears blue, if the pigment penetrates the eye, it appears brown



to black. Accordingly, we can only consider the colour of the eyes as an expression of the individuality.
The better the nourishment of the body, the more regular the circulation of the blood, the more delicate the skin is, the more vividly rosy-red will be the visible parts of the mucous membrane at the margin of the eye and the lachrymal sac, as well as at the lips. The same conditions hold good of the tender rosy colour of the nipples. Red lips are held to be lovely, and are at the same time a proof of good health. The colour at the entrance of the vagina has already been discussed.
As dentists can prove, it is a mistake to imagine that all sound teeth are pure white. The enamel may appear more or less yellowish or even bluish, without spoiling the pleasing impression of a good set of teeth. The main thing is that all the teeth sliould be of the same colour and have a uniform glitter. A milk-white tooth in a set of bluish teeth spoils t.heir beauty.
We may now, after what has been said, affirni, first of all quite generally, that the beauty of a woman's colour is primarily determined by the delicate colouring of the white skin, and the light blonde and blue colours of the hair and eyes that go with it, the rosy colour of the lips and the white colour of the teeth.
But we have to take into account, together with the harmonious effect of the colours, yet another effect, namely, that of contrast, which consists therein that a powerful, deep colour-tone increases the delicacy of the environing colour-tones. The effect of contrast is stronger than that of the agreement of colour-tone.
A delicate skin, for instance, appears the more brilliantly white, the more strongly it is contrasted with the parts that relieve it, the hair and the eyes, and it appears most brilliant when the hair and eyes are black.
A brunette skin accords with dark eyes and hair, and it produces as harmonious an effect by gradation of tints as does a white skin with blonde hair and light eyes. But when a white skin occurs together with black hair, the contrast intensifies the beauties of both.
Bv means of contrast and gradation we can produce a whole



quantity of colour combinations, which make an irapression of beauty.
Tlius we have:
Skin: 1. white. 2. red. 3. yellowish. 4. brunette.
Hair on the head: 1. light blonde. 2. gold blonde. 3. red blonde. 4. ash blonde. 5. red. 6. light brown. 7. dark brown. 8. black.
Hair about the eyes: 1. blonde. 2. brown. 3. red. 4. black.
Eyes: 1. blue. 2. grey. 3. brown. 4. black.
Pubic hair: 1. blonde. 2. red. 3. brown. 4. black.
Skin 1 can be combined with all the shades of the hair on the head and about the eyes, and with all shades of eyes and pubic hair. Skin 2 would produce a too vivid colour with hair on the head 1 and 2, and hair about the eyes 1. Skin 3 is a defect when combined with hair on the head 1—5, hair about the eyes 1, and eyes 1, but is suitable to the other sub-divisions.
Lastly, skin 4 only agrees with hair on the head 7 & 8, hair about the eyes 4, eyes 3 & 4, and pubic hair 2, 3 & 4.
Now, as all these colours are chiefly produced by the pigment arising from the blood, the lighter or darker shading of all the colours taken together is conditioned, as a rule, by the larger or smaller amount of uniform pigmentation.
For the same reason, such exceptions as a slightly-pigmented, white skin, with strongly-pigmented, black hair, are greatly appreciated as rare beauties in the combination of colours.
It is well known that such exceptions are more frequent in some people than in others.
For example, Polish women often have a delicate white skin and black hair on the head, black hair about the eyes and blue eyes, and the phenomenon cannot be explained. In Seeland, where the same type of female beauty is also commonly found, it is believed that tliis combination of colours is due to the mixture of Spanish blood, which took place there long ago.
There are many women who have received a special gift of beauty from Nature, whose colour always remains beautifully the same: there are others who have their good and bad days. The latter are often delicate of temperament and show the effects of



the smalJest nervous or mental disturbance, or disorder of the circulation of the blood, in change of complex ion.
Apart from these causes, which depend on the constitution, there are a number of external phenomena, which may affect the colour of the female body, and which call for a more detailed treatment.
In Figs. 98 and 99 a female body, whose tints are uniformly graduated with the ground-colours, cobalt, vermilion and yellow oclire, is relieved by an orange-yellow and by a violet back-ground. The shading is neutral.
When we compare these pictures, we see first of all that the neutral shading, which is of the same colour in both instances, appears to the eye in the first figure as bluisli, in the second as greenish-yellow.
Again the naked body appears in the first picture pale and rosv, in the second, more yellowish.
This optie phenomenon, or illusion, if you prefer the term, is based on the law that our eye lends a neutral or weak-coloured surface the complementary colour of the more vividly-coloured environment. In the first case, the vivid orange colour makes the neutral shadow appear blue-green, in the second, the violet colour brings into plav its greenish-yellow complementary colour. The colour of the naked body in the first picture has become paler through the prominence of the blue tones, but appears rather rosy because of the blending of red; in the second picture the body is yellowish, because its yellowish elements are intensified by the greenish-yellow complementary colour.
We perceive therefrom that the colouring of the skin is greatly influenced by the colour of the environment.
Plate III shows how this can be usefully applied. At the top, there is represented the naked body of a young woman on a greenish background, whereby the colour of the skin acquires a rosy tint. Beneath is the same figure contrasted with a reddish background, whereby it acquires a greenish tint. In the first instance, the young woman has her "beau jour ", in the second, not.
The influence is, of course, the greater, the stronger the colour of the environment and the more lustrous it is. But the environment



has its optical effect not merely on the colour, but also on the forin: bright colours make tliings broad, dark colours narrow. We eau see this most clearly in the sharpest contrast we have, black and white. The same figure 011 a white back-ground appears full and broad, on a black back-ground, narrow and slim.
In any given case, therefore, by choice of the right colour and the stronger or weaker illumination of the environment, the colourcharm of the female body contrasted with it may be increased very considerably—a piece of knowledge which comes naturally to most women, and which plays a prominent part especially in the selection of the nearest environment, namely, the clothing of the body.
Finally, in addition to the environment, the kind of light used has also au influence on the colour of the body. It is sufficiënt to point out that sunshine and moonshine, gas-light, petroleum and electric light affect colours in the most diverse fashion, and I may teil those of my lady readers who long for beautiful things, as a great secret, that, of all articifial means of light, that which is most favourable for setting off female beauty to the greatest advantage is the old wax-candle.
XIII.
Beauty of movement.
The beauty of movement is grace. The refined nation of the ancient Greeks had onlv one goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, but three goddesses of grace, the Charites or Graces. Did they wish to express the fact that the ever-changing charms of the female body in motion cannot be combined in one body? Yes, are even three bodies sufficiënt to incarnate merely the chief traits of female grace? Think of the many favourite subjects of plastic art, which in myriads of new forms are ever issuing from the imagination of their creators, the exalted, transfigured Mary, the mourning Magdalene, helpless and naked, the chaste, blushing Gretchen, the childlike



Psyche, Aphrodite with her lustrous and alluring beauty, Danae with the yearning looks, the wildly graceful Bacchante and thousands of others.
Realise to yourself in vvhat an infinite number of ways female grace confronts us in dailv life:—The reckless exuberance of the girl as she gambols about, with half-angular, half-charming movements, the dear little girl who listens to the words of the story-teller with her little head inclined sliglitly on one side, with half-open lips and dreamy fairy-eyes, anotlier one who munches her food and sips her drink with lingers daintily spread out and laughing mouth, a third, who whirls round in the dance, with shining eyes and heaving breast, then the woman in love, who abandons herself with an emotion, half of shame, lialf of passion, and lastly, the young mother, who gazes at the cliild with loving anxiety.
Each one is different, each lias her own inimitable charms, each single one is an inexhaustible fountain of ever-new observations, each single one should have a thick tome all to herself about her bodily grace.
But if we lay it down as a rule, that there are no two woraen who conib their refractory locks from their foreheads in exactly the sarne manner, nor two who shake hands exactly similarly, nor two who gather up their skirts, when they are walking, with the same movement, we lay it down at the same time that all these different movements are so many expressions of female individuality, and that they are not subject to any general objective appreciation.
Wh at, on the other hand, does lend itself to objective judgment is the changes of the upper surface of the body, that take place as a consequence of certain groups of uniform movements, and the laws that may be deduced from the agreement of constantly recurring observations.
As in the case of the appreciation of bodily form, we have at our disposal in the study of the body in motion, in addition to the eye, the sense of touch, measurement and photographv: and instantaneous photography has quite lately become an inportant means of new experiments for the study of movement.
As in the study of the normal human body anatomy is occupied



with the investigation of forms, and physiology, based thereupon, is occupied with the vital functions, so in our present instance we may set beside an anatomy of beauty, a physiology of beauty, a doctrine of beauty in motion. But as in the former case, here too anatomy and physiology are merged indivisibly in one another.
The changes which the human body undergoes as the result of movements are of various kinds. The forms of the body may be affected by different attitudes or positions of single limbs in relation to the rest of the body, by different attitudes and positions of the body as a whole, and finally, by the continuous motion of the body in walking, running, jumping, dancing, falling etc., etc.
It would be outside the scope of this book to enter into the physiological esplanations of these conditions. We should have to consider, besides the anatomical bases, a number of physical laws of nature regarding leverage, gravitation, inclined planes, the mechanism of movement etc.
There is a capital account of the conditions referred to in two standard books which appeared not long ago, the Physiologie artistique ofP. Richer (1) and Die Gestalt des Menchen of G. Fritsch (2).
The conclusions arrived at in these two works, in which an estiniate is given of previous literature on the subject, serve as a basis for the following considerations.
Brücke (3) writes: " I call that figure beautiful which shows excellence in all positions and in all aspects, so far as they are at all applicable in ideal Art."
That is asking a good deal, especially when it is remembered in what daring positions many modern masters e.g., B. Klinger in his Nymph with the Fawn, make use of their models.
However, starting from this principle, Brücke deduces a number of observations and experiments, which shall make it possible for an artist to use a less ideal figure in a position adapted for his particular requirement.
(1) Octave Doin, Paris 1895.
(2) Paul Neff, Stuttgart 1899.
(3) Schönheit und Fehler der menschlichen Gestalt. 2nd Ed.



We are here treating, first of all, not of the utilisation of the female body in Art, but with tbe body per se, and have therefore to inquire what combination of conditions is needful to make it beautiful in every aspect and posture.
An exhaustive representation of all conceivable positions and aspects is not necessary for the purpose: it suffices to select a few of the most important, and to investigate the action of the natural laws in their case; the needful conclusions for all the rest follow of themselves.
We may, to begin with, lay it down that the apparatus of movements, so far as it consists of bone, joints and muscles, is the same in principle both in man and in woman. The joints are the points of rotation, the bones are the arms of the lever which are attached to them, the muscles. that bind the bones to one another, constitute the actual motor force, in that they, by their action, cause the arms of the lever to rotate about the joints, and approximate them to one another (flexion), or separate them from one another (tension). The contracting muscle becomes shorter and thicker. The resulting changes of form on the surface of the body can only be understood from accurate knowledge of all the bones, joints and muscles. Thus when the arm is bent at the elbow joint, the anterior surface of the arm swells through the shortening and thickening of the biceps: when the arm is extended, the posterior surface of the upper arm swells on account of the same process in the triceps. I refer the reader for further details to the abovementioned works of Richer and Fritscli.
The difference between the sexes consists in the fact that the outline of the tense muscle, however powerfully it may be developed, is never so clearlv visible in a woman as in a man, because, in her case, as a result of the greater amount of subcutaneous fat, the surface always preserves a pleasing, uniform rotundity.
Nobody who is acquainted with the action and position of the muscles needs to be told, that the form of the whole body is more or less altered by a movement of a single part. One example, in connection with the raising and lowering of the arms, will be enough.



Figs. 102 and 103 represent the sarae girl, Fig- 102 with hanging arms, Fig. 103 with raised arms.
In the first instance, the lowering of the arms is accompanied by a slight sinking forward of the trunk, the shoulders descend
Fig. 102. Torso of a girl of 14, with lowered arms. Photograph by P. Schmidt, Vienna.
in uniform roundness, the breasts have fallen in spite of their youthful elasticity, whilst a slight skin-fohl has formed under the left breast.
The result of raising of the arms (Fig. 103) is a slight elevation of the upper part of the body, the shoulders have become round. high and full through tension of the deltoid muscle, the half-



extended great pectoral muscles raised on high are seen to descend fan-wise from both shoulders towards the thorax, the breasts resting upon them are drawn upwards, and merge in the skin at their lower margin in a soft line without a fold. The throat appears shorter in consequence of the raised shoulders.
Fig. 103. Torso of the same girl, with raised arms.
Tlius, by a single movement of the arms the whole formation of the arms throat and breast has been changed.
From this example we may first of all deduee the observation, that when the arms are raised, the form of the breasts is more beautiful and shows to better advantage, in the present case, because the natural tension of the youthfullv elastic skin is heightened by
14



the tension of the stretched muscles. And it further follows, that even when there is less elasticity in the skin, the beautiful form of the breast may be heightened by raising the arms.
The principle we have discovered may be expressed in general terms. By tension of the correspondent muscles the elastic tension of the skin resting upon them may be increased, and the want of tension may be replaced.
We shall have to refer again and again to tliis important principle.
If we now realise the possible actions of the muscles, we have to distinguish the various positions of the body at rest produced by them, and then the movement of the body as a whole, and in both groups we have to inquire into the effect on the bodilyform.
1. Positions of the body at rest.
Before we discuss the various positions of the resting body, standing, sitting, Iying etc., we must glance for a moment at the changes which the trunk as a whole undergoes normally in case of movement.
Extension of the trunk.
As we have already fully stated, the basis of the trunk is the immovable pelvis, and in front, the extremely extensible lower-belly, which has no bony supports of its own; whilst behind there is the very movable lumbar segment of the spine, which allows much flexion and rotation. On the top of this we have, as a whole, the elastic thorax, in which, again, the easily movable arms are inserted, together with the shoulder and the throat.
Accordingly when there is a movement of the trunk, we have principally to deal with a displacement of the thorax as a whole against the immovable pelvis, its raising and lowering, lateral flexion and rotation on the movable lumbar segment of the spine, and in the next place we have to deal with the displacement of the limbs which are more intimately attached to the thorax and the pelvis.
The most important muscular groups that can bring about an



extension of the trunk, and at the same time cause a greater tension of the soft parts covering its anterior surface are:
1. The longissinius dorsi.
2. The diaphragm and costal muscles.
3. The shoulder and arm muscles.
4. The thigh muscles.
Apart from the direct mus-
cular action there is also, novv and then, a displacement of gravitation in the direction of the tension.
1. By the action of the longissinius dorsi, the vertebral column becomes extended and bent over backwards, and the sacral hollow is thus intensified.
This effect is increased by thrusting the shoulders and upper belly backwards (Fig. 105).
A comparison with Fig. 74 suffices to show liow the forin of the trunk is already affected: the sacrum is more hollow, its contour forms a larger angle with the posterior thoracic margin, the abdomen is tense, the lower margin of the thorax
is higher in front, the breasts Fi(f lu4 Extension of the vertebral
are raised and are less promi- column by tension of the longissinius dorsi.
A Bohemian girl of 18.
nent at their lower surface.



The same effect is produced by simply letting the trunk sink down from behind. when the muscles are also stretched, in order to maintain equilibrium.
Fig. 105. Girl of 14 (Fig. 67), with protruded pelvis.
In Fig. 105 we see a posture of the kind from in front, in the case of a girl of' 14, who also appears full fïgure in Fig. 67.
Her female sexual character is emphasised by the protrusion of the pelvis and the falling forward of the upper body, since the



Fig. 106. Girl of 14, with elevated diaphragm and indrawn abdomen.
pelvis appears much broader and more developed in consequence. The breasts are raised upwards and laterally.



Fig. 107. Girl of 14, with extended back and indrawn abdomen
in profile.



The second mode of extension is the tension of the costal muscles and of the diaphragm, whereby the abdomen is drawn mwards, whilst the abdominal viscera are elevated.
The effect thus aimed at can be particularly clearly observed in
youthful persons, who are
not very fat (Fig. 106).
The tension is tlien increased by a simultaneous contraction of the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall; when those muscles are impaired in their action, e. g. in the case of tight lacing, the lower belly hangs beneath the hollow stomach like an empty sack.
We can see in another photograph (Fig. 107) a doublé action of first and second extension of the dorsal
Fig. 108 Extension of the trunk, supported by extension ot the leg. French wonian of 24.



muscles, and indrawing of the abdomen, in the same woman.
If we again compare the profile . outline with Fig. 74, we see that, through the indrawing of the stomachal region in front, the outline of the lower belly is thrown into greater relief against the thorax, and that behind, owing to the elevation of the thorax, the angle of fiexion between the hips and upper belly is moved upwards.
3. The raising of the arms, as we have already mentioned, mainly affects the forni of the shoulders and of the breasts, which are elevated with the great pectoral muscle. We see from Figs. 104 and 106 that the action of 1 and 2 is intensified by raising the arms. In both figures one arm is raised, the other lowered. The
effect of raising the arm can be perceived by comparing the right half of the body with the left. In both cases, the breast is flattened on the side of the raised arm, and is lifted higlier than on the side of the lowered arm. The thorax likewise appears broader at the tor), owinc to the nro-
Fig. 109. Young woman of 23, of • f , ,
Duteh-French extraction. Jectlon of the P^stenor scapular
muscles.
4. The thigh-muscles influence the form of the trunk in a much lesser degree than those of the arms and shoulders, which are more closely connected with it. We know, hovvever, that the inguinal



fold is deepened by bending and flattened by stretching, and that accordingly, when the leg is extended, the peritoneum is also bound to be tense.
The effect of the left leg being extended and turned backwards is very clearly seen in Fig. 108. The action of the extended dorsal muscles is increased by the elevation of the arms and the extension of the left leg; on the right side, the action of the leg decreases, so that the lower belly appears flatter on the left side, and more arched on the right.
From what we have said we may draw the conclusion, that by so extending the trunk that the four abo ve-mentioned groups of muscles, all or singly, take part in it, the excellences of bodily conform ation are in general intensified and seen to better advantage; and the more so, more power ful the muscular system is and the more elastic the skin.
So far, our observations have exclusively referred to well-built bodies, rnostly of young women. We may realise by a further example the effect of extension on a less perfect body,
and at the same time note the extreme limit of extension.
Fig. 109 shows a young woman of 23, of Dutch-French origin, the same whose back view is portrayed in Fig. 34.
We perceive from Fig. 110 that the bodily pi-oportions, when compared with Fritsch's canon, yield perfectly normal relations.
Fig. 110. Canon of Fig. 109. after Fritsch.



On the other hand, besides the already-mentioned furrows caused by the pressure of garters, she numbers among her defects a
Fig. 111. Young woman of 23, stretehing her trunk to its extreme limit.
decrease in the elasticity of the skin, which in the anterior aspect can be noted especially in the breasts. These, although of small size, have fallen down somewhat, the lower half of them protrudes pronouncedly, and at their lower margin they are sharply marked



oü' against the substratum. In fact, the vvoman lias a slightly pendulous breast.
In Fig. 111 we see the sanie body at the greatest possible extension in profile.
We remark, to begin witli, tliat the breasts are greatly drawn upwards and have a very flat appearance: the extension lias entirely abolished the pendulousness.
The extreme extension has also had the effect of producing two pronounced kinks in the back, which cannot be seen in the postei ior aspect in the upright position (Fig. 34). The upper one of these kinks bounds the lower margin of the thorax, the lower one passes obliquely above the lower margin of the os sacrum.
That we have to do here with a natural and not a defective fold-formation, is evident from the circumstance that the skin at the lower costal margin, as well as at the posterior surface of the sacrum, is intimately inwoven with the substratum, and that therefore, when we consider the extreme backward-bending of the body and the consequent thrusting-together of the pleura, the latter bulges out betvveen the points indicated, and gives rise to two oblique folds in the direction of the boundaries above and below.
A tliird fold running across the os sacrum beneath the first two is a blemish, and is only found in the presence of abnormal accumulation of fat.
We may accordingly sum up the effect of extension of the trunk on bodily beauty as foliows: — Extension increases the beauty of the bodily forms, the skin is more ten se, the lower bellv flatter, the thorax is more markedly arched, the breasts are more elastic and have a higher position, w hi 1 st the sacrum is li o 11 o wer. Sm a 11 defects of the body can be remedied by extension. In the case of extraordinary extension, two oblique folds normallv appear on the back. The favourable effect is great in proportion to the strength of the muscular system and the elasticity of the skin.



Flexion of the trunk.
If, when you are lying straight on your back, you want to raise your bodv, there are mainly tvvo groups of muscles, which, by their co-operative action, change the lying into the sitting
Fig. 112. Flexion of the trunk: tirst stage. Austrian girl of 20. Photograph by P. Scbmidt, Vienna.
attitude. They are the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall, which draw the thorax to the pelvis, and the powerful musclebundles of the psoae, that descend in the depth of the pelvis from the vertebral column to the thighs, which constitute the " fillet" in animals.
This latter group of muscles is able, according to the position



of the centre of gravity, to draw the leg to the trunk, or the^trunk to the leg. By their means the trunk is bent towards the legs.
Fig, 113. Flexion of the trunk: second stage. Munich girl of 12.
Photograph by Reeknagel.
When the attitude is upright, however, the action of this group of muscles is secondary, since the trunk, in the act of bending, principally obeys the law of gravitation. The sinking forxvards is regulated by a gradual relaxation of the longissimus dorsi and corresponding traction of the psoae-group ; the chief part of the



work, however, is done by tlie weight of the trunk, pressing forwards. As in the case of the psoas muscles, which are the antagonist
Fig. 114. Flexion of' the trunk: third stage.
of the longissimus dorsi, so it is the case witli all the other muscles that contribute towards flexion ; tlieir action is of more or less subordinate importance, and to some extent of a negative kind. The alterations of the trunk in the direction of the flexion are



increased by lowering of the arms, and the bending of the extended legs.
As for the fourth of the factors mentioned in connection witli extension, viz., the tension of the muscles of the diaphragm and thorax, they obev the same law.
We can observe this in the breathing of a seated person, who is tired. When he draws his breath, the trunk is extended and the
Fig. 115. Highest stage of flexion of the trunk. Italian girl of 20. Photograph by Plüschow.
breast expands: when he breathes the air out, the thorax sinks, the trunk falls down, and the back is more curved.
Flexion of the trunk is therefore mainly concemed with a relaxation of the muscular groups causing the extension, and is onlv secondarilv concemed with the active operation of the bending elements. Besides, gravitation plays a' far greater part in the matter.
The first change which the trunk undergoes in bending forwards is, that the profile of the lumbar curvature grows flatter and flatter, and that the depressed sacrum first of all passes into a straight line, and finaHy into an arch projecting backwards.



Figs. 112 shows the first stage in a well-made girl of 20.
If the trunk is more flexed, and the back is arched, a kink arises on the anterior abdominal surface, rather above the navel and below the antero-inferior costal margin.
This " waist-kink " is quite a natural phenomenon of bending, and can also be seen on the bodies of youthful, lean persons with an elastic skin; it lias been reproduced too, in classic Art, amongst others in the instance of the sitting Aphrodite in the Yatican.
Fig. 113 shows the normal bodily kink on the tender body of a girl of 12, who represents tliesecond stage of flexion.
In the third stage occurs a further kink of the anterior abdominal wall, which, passing betwcen the lower belly and the mons
vpnpris vanisbps in thfi (li-
vcuci »auiaiico ui tut vu—
Red-haired Danish woman. rection of the loins; it is the Photograph by Dr. Kuhn-ïaber.
"kink of the lower belly." This, too, is normal, and is of regular occurrence. In this stage the abdomen projects more visibly between the two kinks, and most visibly in the umbilical region, which is richly cushioned with fat.



Such kinks are caused by the thrusting together of the skin over the extended and shortened abdominal muscles.
Both kinks are normallv represented in Fig. 114, in which, owing to the half profile posture, the simultaneous, more pronounced curve of the back is visible. Thanks to its elastic skin, this body too possesses normal lines, in spite of the abundance of fat.
Fig. 117. The same, in a bent attitude.
The extremest stage of flexion is represented by the attractive body of a young ltalian woman (Fig. 115). The flexion is so pronounced, that the breasts rest upon the thighs and the chin upon the knee.
Apart from the fact that the lumbar fold between the trunk and raised leg is deepened and lengthened, we can only perceive, in spite of the extreme flexion, two kinks, the waist kink and the
15



kink of the lower belly. These two lines of flexion must be regarded as normal.
The differences mentioned become still more manifest, if we consider them on the trunk of one and the same person.
Fig. 116 represents a young Danish woman, whose photograph
I owe to the kindness of
Professor Leopold Meyer. Fig. 117 shows the same person in a bent attitude.
Apart from the slight droop of the breast, the figure offers fairly normal conditions.
The excellent form of the flexed body depends first of all on the elastic tension of the skin, on the good development of the muscular system and the firmness of connection betvveen the skin and the substance. Nevertheless, the flexed posture, owing to the greater tension thereby produced, makes far greater demands on the above-mentioned ex-
Fig. 118. Japanese girl of Kobe, jj t properties of the
in a bath. 1 r
constitution. A slight ex-
cess of fatty deposit, a trifling relaxation in the elastic tension of skin
and muscles are sufficiënt to spoil the forms in the act of bending,
and many a woman, who looks fairly well when her body is
extended would inevitably exhibit numerous defects in the act of
flexion, and it will be, first and foremost, the result of the havoc
wrought by the misuse of corsets, by excessive tight lacing. When
there is a large fatty deposit without corresponding development



of the muscular system, a second kink in the waist follows on the first, and the lower boundary of the full breasts is converted into an oblique fold.
Both these faults are indicated in Fig. 118, a young Japanese woman whose body is otherwise well-made.
A second kink may finally be added to the first one on the lower bellv, and it will pass nearer the navel.
In the case of very corpulent persons the cushions of fat swell out between all these kinks, which have become deep folds, and flexion may at last become quite impossible on account ot the huge, protruding bellv, that hangs down over the groins, and the pendulous breasts rest upon it.
Rotation of the trunk.
The rotation of the trunk in the lumbar segment of the spine causes no kinks, but only a lateral displacement of the soft parts. The result is a certain cbange of forms, so that some surfaces are seen more en face, others more in profile near one another, and the muscular groups are extended in the direction ot the rotation.
The most diverse combinations may be developed out of these three principal movements of the trunk. To begin with, bending and extension in the direction of the axis of the trunk, or more or less laterally, may occur in combination with rotation. Factors of extension in one half of the body can be combined with factors of bending in the other half. We need only briefly indicate here, how the form of the flexion-furrows may be altered by the addition of rotation.
If we represent to ourselves once more the course of all the flexion-furrows, we have, under normal conditions, in the act of extension:
a) The waist kink (T),
b) The lumbar kink (L).
The lumbar kink is an accessory, which is marked by a dotted line in Fig. 119a.



In the act of flexion we have:
a) The waist kink (T),
b) The kink of the lower belly (U).
A second accessory kink between the waist kink and that of the
Fig. 119a. Flexion-furrows in the act of extension.
lower belly is marked by a dotted line; and finally there is a fold under the breasts. (Fig. 119b.)
Of all these flexion-furrows, only the kink of the lower belly is bounded laterallv in its extension by the anterior spines of the pelvic hollows of the os sacrum. All the other folds can be displaced by a lateral flexion and rotation, and they pass into one another. We have already pointed out that when the elasticity of



the skin is inconsiderable, even in the hip posture (Cf. Fig. 82), which at bottom is nothing but a lateral inclination of the thorax towards the hips, two skin folds appear.
These skin folds are nothing but the anterior continuation of the waist and lumbar kink, caused bv the attitude.
Fig. 119b. Flexion-furrows in the act of bending.
They occur normallv in Fig. 120, where thev are caused by the lateral inclination taken together with the rotation of the trunk.
When there is a strong rotation towards the opposite side (Fig. 121), botli furrows pass somewat more slopingly upwards, and lie more in the direction of the anterior surface of the body.
There is finally mucli to be learnt froni Fig. 122, in which, in consequence of the slack skin, the normal, as well as the defective,



fold-formation is very marked. The trunk is extended on the right side, and flexed on the left, and at the same time the thorax is twisted towards the inclined side. Conditions result, which have
Fig. 120. Lateral flexion-furrows in the act of bending and rotation.
the effect of making the kinks appear doubly pronounced on the left side. We also notice, besides the excessive development of^the kink of the waist and of the lower belly, which are particularly visible on the left side, the accessory waist-kink and, between the two vvaist-kinks, the anterior processes of the lumbar kink. These



examples, which are of the utmost importance, enable any intelligent reader to construct for himself all other combinations, and relieve
Fig. 121. The same furrows when there is strong rotation towards the opposite side.
us or the tedious necessity of systematicallv discussing every conceivaile displacement of the trunk.
Oir understanding ot the effect of different attitudes on the body as a vhole is much simplified and facilitated by these considerations. Whm the body is at rest, the chief postures are tliose of lying.



sitting and standing; when the body is in motion, the chief postures are walking and running.
The deductions with regard to kneeling, squatting, walking on an inclined plane, going up and down stairs, lifting, carrving, pushing, dancing etc., are obvious.
Fig. 122. Pronounced and faulty kinks in the act of rotation and flexior
on the left side.
A systematic review of the whole matter can be found in Fritsch and Richer.
The upright position.
When the body is in an upright position, it naturally endeavmrs to assume an attitude in which the equilibrium will be maintsined with the least muscular exertion.
That object is easiest attained by thrusting forward the felvic region, and by slightly bending the slioulders and thrusting them backwards. The resulting "easy attitude" (Fig. 123 on the right hand) should be regarded as the natural upright position.



Fig. 123 represents three voung girls, 6, 8 and 10 years old,
Fig. 123. Three Munich girls of 6, 8 and 10 in " easy attitude Photograph by Recknagel.
who have all more or less assumed the typical upright position, and it is most manifest and natural in the biggest of the three girls, who is on the right hand side.



Ihe position is characteristic in the case of the naked body. We must particularly point out here that clothing, according to its form and weight, has an extraordinary influence on the natural positions of equilibrum, a circunistance to which by far too little attention has been paid in the physiological study of bodily form, as will be shown later on. In our times and in Europe, where women spend the greater part of their lives in clothes, there are very few who, wlien undressed are able to move their bodies naturally. The bodily attitude is mostly aifected by the heightening of the heels.
In order to preserve the equilibrium on the artificial heels, the easy attitude has to be changed to a stiff, so-called military, carriage. (Figs. 124 and 125).
I lmvp alreadv elsewlipre Cl)
— " — \ /
Fig. 124. lig. 12.>. gone into the fact that the Fig. 124. Easj' attitude on the . . . . .„
whole sole. wearing of heels, ït they are
Fig. 125. Stiff attitude with not too high and too narrow,
raised heel . , . ,
is by no means to be con-
denined, as, on the contrary, it increases the beauty of the body,
especially where short leg.s are concerned.
We are only interested here in the fact that the form of the
(1) Cf. Frauenkleidung p. 164.



body may be decidedlv favourably affected by artificial heels, owing to the heightening, but well-built women with long legs can do without them.
A variation of the natural easy posture is the position ot equilibrium, in which the pelvic parts are drawn backwards and the shoulders forwards. This is the typical attitude of many statues of Aphrodite: it is especially noticeable in the Venus de Medici.
But, in this instance, a tension of the longissimus dorsi is requisite in order to prevent the body, which is slightly bent, from falling forward.
It is generally supposed that the attitude of the Medicean \ enus is typical of the feelings of sharae. (1) It is not, however, correct, When a woman who is used to clothing is surprised in a nude state, she assumes a different position.
The trunk is slightly inclined forwards, the shoulders are elevated and both arms are crossed above the breasts. The genitals are concealed as far as possible by placing one thigh over the other. That is the natural attitude which expresses the feeling of sharae. The attitude of Aphrodite which Art lias consecrated, is, in my opinion, a blending of this natural position with the original conception, according to which the goddess pointed with her hands to her breast and genitals as symbols of fruitfulness. In the eyes of the artist the goddess has more and more become a woman, for it is unthinkable that a goddess of beauty sliould be ashamed of her naked body.
When the muscles of the back, thighs and nates are stretched, the natural easy posture passes into the extended upright posture; in the anterior aspect, this is the same as the symraetrical, upright, bodilv posture which has already been mentioned (Fig. 35).
This posture, which is being used in modern Art more frequently than it formerly was, makes the severest demands on normal bodily relations. The slightest asymmetry of the two halves of the body can be recognised at a glance, and only a perfectly beautiful body
(1) Cf. Havelock Kllis, Geschlechtstrieb und Schamgefühl. German trltn. by Kotscher. 1900.



can make a good impression in that position. Nevertheless it is
the basis on which all the other upright positions rest.
In this position (Fig. 126), the axis of the trunk is perpendicular to the connecting lines of the shoulder and hip joints which it cuts in the centre, the axis of the legs runs nearly parallel to the trunk axis, and the weight of the body is equallv divided between the two legs.
By lowering one hip and lateral displacement of the other the symmetrical position is converted into the " hip position", the " position hanchée" of the French. In this case the centre of gravity is changed, so that the chief weight of the body is borne by the leg of the higher hip, the "standing leg", whose axis runs slantingly outwards. The centre of gravity of the trunk is adjusted by the bending of the vertebrat column in the direction of the standing leg.
The leg corresponding to the other hip, the "free-leg", is artificially prolonged by the lowering of the hip joint. The prolongation is balanced by a bend in the knee or by an outward-turning foot.
Richer distinguishes two varieties of
.sxr «»• * ,f«- i27>-
In the one case (on the left) the axis of the trunk (a b) runs parallel to the axis of the standing leg (c d); in the other (on the right) the prolongation of the trunk axis (a b) cuts that of the standing leg (c d).



In the first instance, in order to preserve the equilibrium, the upper part of the body must be much more bent over towards the
Fig. 127. Hip-position, after Richer.
side of the standing leg. At bottom, both attitudes are but variations of the hip position as a whole.
If we applv the axis to a quite normally-made body in an easy



hip-position (Fig. 128) in such a way that regard is had to the tlexion
Fig. 128. Girl of 20 from the Rhine, in an easy hip-position.
of the lumbar segment of the vertebral column (Fig. 129), we obtain a position which corresponds to Richers first "position hanchée .



But we at once perceive, that onlv the upper part of the axis of the trunk runs parallel with the axis of the standing leg, whilst the lower part cuts the axis of the leg.
Fig. 129. Proportions of the young Rhenish woman.
If we now imagine that the young woman rocks herself on lier hips in this position, the right hip will move alternately laterally and towards the medium line, and at the same time the corresponding leg axis will pass to the ground in a more or less oblique



line. The centre of gravity of the upper part of the body is
Fig. 130. Two girls of 16 in hip-position. Back view.
Photograph by Recknagel.
adjusted by a corresponding greater or lesser inclination of the lumbar segment of the vertebral column.
The further the hip moves laterally, the more the body approaches
■



Richer's second position: the more the hip of the standing leg approaches the median line, the more it corresponds to the first position.
The bodily form is influencea by the hip-position in this way, that half of the body, which corresponds to the standing leg, becomes flexed. whilst the other half becomes extended.
Since the line of the pelvis and hip and, therefore, the female sexual character, is strongly marked in that posture, which is so great a favourite in plastic art, it must be considered an advantageous posture which heightens the beauty of the forms.
It can be endlessly niodified by greater or lesser flexion, by rotation of the trunk or its parts, by movements of the arms and of the head. Knock-knee, which is a very common defect in women, is entirely concealed, if the posture in question be skilfully adapted, but it is easier in the anterior aspect and in profile, than in the posterior aspect.
Fif 130 affords an excellent example of the good and bad effect
f5 *
of the hip position.
In the case of one of the girls, who has a perfectly normal body, the youthful female sexual character acquires enhanced beauty throufh the pronounced convexity of the left line of the hip and pelvis.
In the other case, there is knock-knee, the skin is slack and the back is over-arched in the region of the shoulder. The inwardturned knee becomes more ugly in this attitude. A conspicuous skin fold has formed over the left hip, and the irregular curvature of the back is more prominently defined. In the first case the position enhances the excellences, in the second, the faults.
From what has been said we may draw the conclusions, that the extended upright position is only beautiful where a perfectly made body is in question, and that by the hip position the beauty of the normal body maj be enhanced and trifling blemishes bidden.
The sitting position.
An inclination of the thigh towards the trunk is an indispensable condition of the sitting position. The trunk may, at the same time,
16



be in the most diverse stages of extension, flexion and rotation. Figs. 102, 103, 108, 120 and 121 afford a number of examples, to which we can refer. Since the line of the body as a whole is interrupted by the flexion of the thigh, a beautiful body will never
be able to reveal its
excellence so iully in a sitting posture, as in an upright one. On the other hand, all bodies possessed of legs that are too short, or that are not quite straight, look far better sitting than standing, because a comparison of the longitudinal measurements of the upper and lower body is impossible to the eye on account of the sitting position,
The same is, of course, true of the kneeling, squatting, riding positions etc.
We may notice the changes of the form of the trunk in different sitting positions, in their uttermost extrenies in two photographs of the
Fig. 131. Sitting posture, with flexed upper body and elevated arms.
same person (Figs. 131 and 132).
The upper body of the young wonian sitting (Fig. 131), who is of fairly normal frame, exhibits all the signs, that have been described above, of the third stage of flexion. A doublé waist-kink and the pectoral fold appear as a result of her rather slack skin. When the trunk is extended and the arms are elevated, the excel-



lences of the trunk are brought into splendid relief, especially the breasts, whose form is perfect.
It follows that the sitting posture is the more beautiful, the more extended the upper body is at the same time.
Fig. 132. Sitting posture, with extended upper body and elevated arms.
Having regard to what has already been said about extension and flexion, we may lay it down as a rule for the sitting position and its influence on bodily beauty, that perfectly beautiful bodies are seen to less advantage in the sitting than in the standing position. In the case of short or crooked legs, accompanied by a



beautiful trunk, the general impression of bodily beauty is enhanced by the sitting position. It is a position which affects the bodily form advantageously, in ratio of the extension of the upper body.
Fig. 133. Girl of' 13, sitting with legs apart.
A union of the sitting posture with postures indicative of violent motion of the limbs is only endurable, when the tension of the skin is verv elastic, otherwise the harmony of the forms is impaired. Fig. 133 may serve as an instance of the extreme limit of the



allowable: it represents a girl of 13, whose attitude corresponds to that chosen by Klinger for his nymph. In the case of an adult the position would give excessive prominence to the hairy genital region, and the figure would acquire an unwomanly character.
The lying position.
Numerous transitions from the sitting to the lying position are conceivable, which are mainly differentiated from the former by the slighter flexion of the legs.
Fig. 134 may be taken as an illustration.
The trunk is in the third stage of flexion: the flexion-folds are more pronounced towards the left side, owing to rotation in this direction : and, owing to elevation of the arms, the character of the flexion is toned down, especially on the right side, where the vigorous raising of the arm coincides with extension of the right upper half of the trunk.
On the other hand, on the left side, the flexion of the trunk is balanced by greater extension of the leg. The body, in spite of its full forms, appears in an advantageous light, through the coincidence of these factors; a lowering of the right arm would suffice to spoil the impression.
In the lying position, properly so-called, we have principally to consider the laws of gravitation, apart from the factors of extension, flexion and rotation. All the soft parts, which are not supported by bones, fall towards the lowest point, and the more so, the heavier they are, and the less they are held back by the elasticity of the skin.
A few examples will suffice to elucidate the different effects. The most propitious conditions imaginable occur together in the case of a slim body, with an elastic skin, in an extended dorsal posture (Fig. 135).
The right half of the body is somewhat higher than the left, and the tense abdomen is in consequence more flattened on the right side than on the left. Owing to the simultaneous extension of the arms, the breasts are raised high and at the same time flattened,



but still we notice that the left breast, following the law of gravitation, has gently drooped into the armpit, and is clearly marked otf at its anterior margin. When women have weak breasts, the breasts become so flattened in this posture, that their presence can only be recognised by the somewhat noticeable fullness in the
Fig. 134. Half-sitting, half lying position.
armpit. This position therefore makes the general impression of the female trunk more youthful, and, when the breasts are inconsiderably developed, approximates it to the fornis of a child.
In Fig. 136 we see a young Austrian woman of distinct stoutness and whose skin has little elasticity, in a half-bent dorsal position with slight rotation towards the left.
The character of the flexion is intensified by the lowering of the arms.



Fig. 135. Extended dorsal position. ltalian woman of 20. Photograph by Plüschow, Rome.



We see much more clearly here, that the principal bulk of the lower belly, obeying gravitation, has sunk towards the right; the breasts have sunk towards both sides and downwards, and the left breast has developed a fold at its lower circumference, ovving to the pronounced flexing and displacement of the arm.
In this case, the raising of the left arm would not, as in
Fig. 136. Flexed dorsal position. Austrian woman of 20. Photograph by O. Schmidt.
Fig. 134, suffice to give the breast a fine shape, because the fold would still remain under the breast, owing to the bending of the left half of the body. The slightest bending would bring out the blemishes in a body of that type.
We may conclude the list of examples with a comparison of the different positions of a model, who is not altogetlier faultless. All the photographs were taken by O. Schmidt in Vienna.
We have the same person in an upright attitude with lowered arms (Fig. 137), in an upright attitude with arms raised (Fig. 138),



in an extended dorsal position with arms raised (Fig. 139), and in a flexed, lateral position with lowered arm (Fig. 140).
We notice in the first position (Fig. 137) that the model has vigorously developed breasts, which, owing to their weight, and the lessened elasticity of the skin, have fallen down and are to a slight extent pendulous. There is a compression-furrow running obliquely above the waist, as a consequence of unsuitable clothing, the abdominal muscles are hardly prominent, and the abdomen is too convex in its lower parts; indeed, owing to the hip-position being on the right side, the excessive convexity is more noticeable on the left than on the right. These blemishes are diminished in the extended position with arms raised (Fig. 138), but they are not removed.
The breasts are only a i>'ig. 137. Female model in upright
little liiglier, they drop a attitude, with lowerod arms.
great deal over the lower
edge of the pectoralis major, and the pendulousness of the breasts is still clearly recognisable. The oblique compression-furrow remains,



Fig. 138. The same, with arms raised.



Fig. 139. The same, in extended dorsal position.



Fig. 140. The same, in flexed lateral position.



whilst, on the lower belly, the muscular relief is rather more visible in the median line, because of the tension of the rectus abdóminis.
In the extended dorsal posture (Fig. 139), nearly all the defects have been remedied. The abdomen is flatter, and is even a bit sunken in on the right side. The convexitv of the breasts is good: they are no longer pendulous on the lower surface: and it can only be observed that something is not as it should be, because the left inferior pectoral segment deseends too low into the armpit.
In the flexed lateral position, the want of elastic tension in the skin may be recognised first of all by the excessive prominente of the waist-kink above the right hip, but mainly by the extraordinary hanging-down of the abdomen over the right thigh : the right iliac region has become quite hollow, and the half of the abdomen which is situated on the left side of the navel is pressed flat and broad on the substratum. Although the right arm hides the breasts almost completely, their pendulousness can be detected on the right side because of their lower fold.
We observe by this example, that, when the bodily structure is indifferent good, the extended dorsal position is decidedly the best for concealing and mitigating defects.
As the back, owing to the powerful development of its skeleton on the greater part of its surface, is but little affected in any positions by the weight of the soft parts, its forms, especially in the recumbent position, do not change far so much as do those of the breast and abdomen. Still, even the back gives evidence of good or bad bodily formation.
Fig. 141 shows the back of an Italian girl with a slim body, an elastic skin and a developed muscular system ; Fig. 142 shows an Austrian girl of 18, with slack skin, considerable adipose tissue and a feeble muscular development.
The first shows a bodily outline which is soft in all parts and yet strong: the form of the buttocks is, in spite of their small size, particularly fine and is not in any way flattened.
The other body corresponds to what the French call "potelé". All the forms are softer, the right buttock, which lies underneath, is much flattened, and the lower boundary of the left buttock



Fig. 141. Italian girl of 13: recumbent position: back view.



Fig. 142. Australian girl of 18: recumbent position: back view.



proceeds more markedly downvvards than in the Italian girl. A waistkink, which is a defect in this position, lias developed itself over the hip.
It may be remarked, in conclusion, that any shortness of leg or arm can scarcely be noticed in the lying posture. The reason is, because our eye is much more readily accustomed to applv a standard in a perpendicular position, and therefore finds it far harder, and often altogether impossible, to distinguish smaller longitudinal differences in a horizontal direction.
An admirable illustration is afforded by Therese Schwartze's (Plate VI) beautiful hand-drawing from a model with faultless proportions, whom I had myself the opportunity of measuring. The legs seem at first sight too long: but if the picture be looked at in an upright position, the uniformity of the body becomes obvious. The exact opposite is the case with the well known Yenus of Urbino, whom Titian clearly represented in a recumbent attitude, solely because the legs of the model were too short.
The conclusions to be drawn, as regards the beauty of positions of the body when at rest, are as follows:
A beautiful female body is beautiful in every position, and the slimmer it is, the more beautiful. Nevertheless good points are shown to best advantage in extension in all positions. The extended dorsal position is the most favourable.
Trifling blemishes may be to such a degree concealed by appropriate positions that the body seems normal. But, in choosing such bettering positions, care should be taken that the elements of extension preponderate over those of flexion.
Defects in the axes of the extremities can be toned down and concealed in the flexed, sitting and lying positions; defects in length disappear in the sitting and lying positions.
Even gross defects of the trunk can be glossed over in the extended posture. The fact that, especially in painting, in which perspective foreshortening lias greater value than it has in sculpture, the recumbent posture is preferably utilised in the representation of the nude woman, is probably in no slight degree due to the eifort to hide as far as possible, by means of the chosen posture,



all the insignificant imperfections of the model, and to set her excellences in a better light.
2. Positions of the body in motion.
It was stated in the second chapter of this book that the ancient Greeks and the Japanese were able to reproduce, with perfect truth to Nature, those movements of living creatures which are so difficult to perceive. We, on the other hand, have in the course ofcenturies, developed a traditional conception of walking and running in painting and plastic art, which is entirely at variance with Nature. If even the majority of artists, in spite of their trained artistic vision, unconsciously adapted themselves to the ruling tradition, the sanie was a fortiori found to be the case with the great mass of the rest of mankind. Without further ado, the conception of walking and running, that obtained in painting and the plastic arts, was transferred to daily life, and assumed to be true. It is only quite lately, that it has been proved, by instantaneous photography, that the ruling conception is altogetlier false and unnatural.
The photographic plate shows all details far more sharply than the shifting human eye; it also makes it possible to record pictorially, for further consideration and study, every phase of a rapid incident; and the final result of that study was, that none of the pictures of walking and running human beings, as they had hitherto been represented in art, have any reality whatever in existence, and that, misled by them, we believed we saw things, which do not actually occur.
There are various opinions as to the influence which the admission of the error may have on us and on future artists.
Fritsch says that our eye is unable to grasp more than a certain number of pictures, say, nine in a second; the photographicapparatus sees more sharply and quickly. But the artist, whose endeavour it is to reproduce the impression of movement, must substitute for single phases, following one after the other, a new conception, created by himself, by which all the impressions received may be reproduced at one blow. The representation of a human being in
17



inotion will therefore remain traditional even in the future; at the utmost, the tradition will be purged by higher knowledge.
Richer is of different opinion. He appeals to the example of the ancient Greeks, whose conception corresponded fully to the natural one; he appeals to the endeavours of isolated later artists, who strove, it is true often in vain, to approach truth in their works; and he is convinced that science will succeed more and more in convincing the artists and, with them, the public of their mistake. I incline to the latter view. The might of truth, when it is once admitted, exerts sooner or later its invicible influence; are we not actuallv witnessing now-a-days the fact, that the so-called " modern tendencies" in painting and the plastic arts are nothing but the unconscious and ever-growing influence of the Japanese artistic conceptions, which are seemingly so naive, but which are so infinitely superior in true observation of Nature, on the antiquated European traditions, that have no relation to Nature?
We have however, first of all, to deal, not with the representation of movement in Art, but with movement itself, or rather only with the effect which movement lias on the forms of the living female body.
We owe wliat scanty material there only is, unfortunately, up till now, first and foremost, to instantaneous photography.
Richer (1) has scientifically utilised the results far more freely than Fritsch. His studies, the subjects of which were chiefly nude men, may be summarised as follows.
In Fig. 143 we see the impressions of foot soles in a quick-march. The direction of the step is indicated by a straight line a b. Of the lines that cut it, the shorter one in every case corresponds to the connecting line of the hip-joints, the longer one to the connecting line of the shoulder-joints. At a, the body rests in a symmetrical position on both foot soles, and the axes of the shoulder■and hip-joints run parallel.
At the first half-step, the right leg is thrust forward, and with it, at the same time, the right hip; the axis of the hip is oblique and the axis of the arm is oblique in the opposite direction, because
(1) Physiologie artistique. Doin: 1895.



the left shoulder is projected, in order to maintain equilibrium with the right hip whilst the trunk is twisted. At the end of the movement, the body rests on both feet, which are placed one in front of the other.
The left foot is now raised, displaced from the ground and hurled forward. When the left leg is raised,
the body rests upon the right foot alone, whilst at the same moment the axes of the shoulder and hip again run parallel. As soon as the left foot is set on the ground, the first stepping position is repeated inversely; left hip forwards, right shoulder in front, body resting on both soles. Walking is therefore nothing but a continuous falling of the body from one position of equilibrium into another, in the course of which one or two points of support are used alternately; at the same time the axes of the pelvic and shoulder-joints intersect each other continuously.
It is now proved by instantaneous photography that the phases of falling pass much more quickly, whilst, on the contrary, the phases of rest at the alternating points of support last much longer in each case, and can
therefore be more easily observed.
Richer accordingly distinguishes the phases d'appui, unilatéral droit, bilatéral, and unilatéral gauehe.
Thus we have the longer-lasting phases: doublé support, support on the right, doublé support, support on the left etc. and, between them, the shorter phases of the falling of the body from one supported position into the other.
Fig. 143. Scheme of human gait, after Richer.



I
Figs. 144—149. Gait of woman on bare feet. I, II, III, IV, V, VI.



With a little practice, one can easily accustom one's eye to recognise all the phases of support, wlien the walking is not too quick, whilst the transition-phases more readily escape observation. But photography can immediately record all the different phases, and with precision.
Now, as the artist has only to regard the human eye in his representation, it foliows that only the phases of support can be of importance to him in the representation of walking.
Richer has given in his book a splendid analysis of the instantaneous photographs, but unfortunately only in the case of a man.
Muybridge, (1) from whom Fritsch has taken some plates, gives a large number of instantaneous photographs of a nude woman walking. This is, so far as I know, the only collection of the kind. Unfortunately I was not in a position to collect a series of that description.
There are two defects in Muybridge's series, which render his observations almost valueless for my purposes. First of all, his model walks like a man; she makes long strides, like Richer's men, whilst women in real life make much shorter steps. Moreover, the effect of artificial heels is neglected in his pictures.
In order to get a correct picture of the way in which a woman actually walks, the model should either be made to walk in a state of complete nudity, except for her shoes or boots, or a suitable nude model should be taken and exercised beforehand in the method of walking on bare feet; unless she has such practice, she walks either tiraidly or clumsily. The latter is the case with Muybridge's model.
I was enabled to make observations of European women who had been accustomed, during their sojourn in the tropics, to walk bare-footed, which Herr Spyker has reproduced diagrammatically (Figs. 144-149) according to my specifications, taking Richer s results as the basis.
The gait of a woman chiefly differs from that of a man in the facts, that her steps are shorter, the projection of the hips more
(1) Animal locomotion. An e 1 e c t r i c o-p h o t o g r a p h i c I nvestigation: üniversiiy of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. 1887.



pronounced,^the phases of support longer in relation to the transition-phases, and that the compensatory movenients of the upper body are less strongly supported by movement of the arms, and more by rotation in the loins. A man's walk has a pushing, active character, a woman's a rocking,
passive character; whilst the man seeks to reach the equilibrium that flies from him, the woman strives to preserve the state of things as it is.
The changes, which the form of the female body undergoes in the act of walking, are nothing but the various factors of flexion and extension. which have already been treated of at length. The bodv passes from
Fig. 150. Viennese girl of 18, walking: 0ne position of the hip
fr°mbehind' into the other, and the
straddle-position, with doublé support, is but a brief transition from the first hip-position of one side into the second hip-position of the other side, a rocking in the hips.



When, then, is the body of a woman walking beautiful, and when not?
After wliat we have said, we may define the beauty of the female gait thus:—The gait
of a woman is beautiful, when it is of the swaying, female type, and when the factors of extension preponderate as much as possible over those of flexion.
Figs. 150 and 151 give, as an illustration, two photographs of the same model walking, in the posterior aspect.
In the first position (Fig. 150) the regularity of the forms is preserved by a correct division of extension and flexion, in the second position (Fig. 151) an ugly fold lias sprung up over the left hip, through the lower-
ing of the left arm, and Fig. 151. The same, in a faulty attitude, the excessive twisting
of the thorax towards the side of the standing-leg, although the womanly type of the gait is fully preserved in the position of the legs.



Fig. 152. Girl going upstairs. Back-view.
Wo do not need to discuss more closely the shifting displacement of the buttock-folds in the act of vvalking, in the posterior



aspect; what has already been said about the hip-position holds good of it also.
The various other postures, which the female body may assume in the various kinds of gait, are subject to the same laws. One example (Fig. 152) is sufficiënt: it represents a young woman, of faultless bodily structure, going upstairs.
The left pelvic region, which is projected by the hip-position, the sacrum, which appears yet more depressed because of the backward inclination of the upper-body, and the right leg, which is thrust backwards in extension, enhance the female sexual character and the roundness of the forms, whilst at the same time the bodily excellences are heightened by all these factors of extension.
The same laws hold good, in general, for a woman running as for a woman walking.
This movement is naturally much more lively; but here too, the womanly character may come out in strong contrast to the masculine. Whilst, in the case of a man, the active striving-forwards is expressed by a marked bending-forwards, in the case of a woman, her special character is indicated by a holding-back of the upper-body accompanied by a vigorous projection in the hips. In the man's case, the lowering of the head increases the impression of force, in the woman's case, the backward inclination of the head increases the charm of movement.
Richer has laid down the definition of running, according to the results of instantaneous photograpliy, in the same way as walking, withpoints d'appui.
As in walking, he distinguishes an " appui unilatéral gauche" and " droit"; but the "appui bilatéral", the "doublé support" becomes, in running, the " phase de suspension", the phase of suspension. In the diagram (Figs. 153—158), Fig. I. is the support on the right, into which the body falls out of suspension, and out of which it jumps upwards again in III. and IV.; V. and VI. are the stage of suspension out of which the body next falls into the support on the left.
We are unable at the moment to produce photographic vouchers for all the various movements of the female body. Anyhow, the



Fig. 153—158. Girl running. I, II, III, IV, V, VI.



illustrations given suffice to prove, that the body in motion can also be judged in a quite objective way, and that a standard can also be applied to it, which, as in the case of beauty at rest, fixes the limits within which the innumerable instances of beauty in movement, of female grace, are to be found.
XIV.
Practical value of the scientific conccption of Female Beauty.
Scientific research is only of general value, when it has been made to serve a practical purpose.
Considering that the female body, as such, has, since the abolition of the slave-traffic, no longer any market-value, it is needful to be able to judge it by a fixed standard, and to acquire a certain expertness in it, as in the case of connaisseurs of horses or wines: in general, no more is necessary.
But, nevertheless, bodily beauty has even now a high value for the woman who possesses it, the more so since it is at the same time a sign of bodily health.
The development and formation of female beauty can be voluntarily furthered or injured, and especially during the years of growth. A fixed standard for judging beauty is, therefore, of great value for everybody, who has to watch over growing girls.
It is the sacred duty of the parents, and especially the mothers, to tenderly guard the budding body of the future woman from all injuries, and enable it by loving care to develope and unfold in beautiful blossom. I think with gratitude of several among them, who have had sufficiënt confideuce in me, to favour me with a share in this exalted task of theirs.
Secondly, the knowledge of the normal female body has a practical



value for the artist, in the choice of his models, and for the critic, in his review of Art-work.
Artistic perception and a knowledge of anatomy are not sufficiënt for the former, as I have already shown by a few examples, which might be multiplied by numerous others.
A fixed standard is yet more important for the critic, if he takes his calling seriously, since he lias to judge both the model and what the artist has made of it.
Before we treat further of these special purposes, we shall first test the practical value of the results so far obtained, by examples.
It has been believed, that it never happens that all bodily excellences occur together in one woman. Through my profession I was several times able to convince myself of the incorrectness of the idea, and to rebut it objectively. As, however, it was some time before I fully worked out the basis for an objective judgment, my first memoranda are not all so complete that I can turn them to account. Besides, I was not, as will readily be conceived, always in a position to undertake all the desirable measurements with the required care and precision.
Women are prevented, by more or less justifiable prejudices, from exposing their person before a man more than is necessary. Such prejudices are certainly rarer in beautiful women than in those who have defects to hide.
At any rate, it is the duty of the doctor to spare their feelings as much as possible, and it is seldom he meets with women who are so unconstrained and so little narrow-minded, that they are not ashamed of their body,
I have accurate data about 8 women, which make it possible to attest their beauty in words. Twelve others, about whom I have memoranda, possess many excellences and only a few, trifling defects.
The whole 20 belonged to old families of the better class, and they had all grown up in very favourable external circumstances.
I take for an example one of the last 12.



Woman of 24, married young.
Length of body, 168.5 cm.
Length of head, 21 cm.
Length of leg, 90 cm. (up to tlie condyle of the femur). Length of step, 82 cm., with leg stretched out, 84 cm. Chest-circumference 88.5 cm.
Length from nose to os pubis (modulus), 62.o cm.
Breadth of shoulder, 38.5 cm.
Breadth of waist, 21 cm.
Breadth of hips, 34.5 cm.
Distance between nipples, 23.5 cm.
P e 1 v i s.
Breadth of spines, 26.5 cm.
Breadth of crests, 29 cm.
Breadth of hips, 34 cm.
Posterior breadth of spines, 12 cm.
Weight of body, 60 kilos.
These measurements, first of all, exhibit the rare phenomenon that the length of the head is contained nearly 8 times in the
th length of the body.
As the length of the step is 82 cm., the middle of the body is only 2 V» cm. higher, that is to say, below the upper boundarv of
the pubic hair.
The leg is 6 cm. longer than 4 heads.
The difference between the shoulders and the waist is 17.5 cm, between hips and waist 13.5 cm., or 1 */« cm. more than necessary
in any given case.
The shoulders exceed the hips, as prescribed, by 4 cm.
At the pelvis, the breadth of the crests exceeds the spines by 2.5 cm., and the breadth of the hips that of the crests by as much as 5 cm.
The distance of 12 cm. between the posterior spines proves an
especial breadth of the os sacrum.
The distance between the nipples also exceeds the required



measurement by 3V2 cm., although in tliis case the breasts themselves were not large.
We tlius see that the longitudinal measurements as well as the latitudinal exceed in places quite considerably the norm of beautiful proportions.
If we calculate the weight of the body by the length of the chest-circumference, we have 61.2 kilos. Instead of which we have here only 60 kilos, or 1.2 kilos too little.
We may conclude from the otherwise normal proportions that the highest prime is not yet reached.
As a matter of fact, the delicately-constructed body gave a general impression of extreme youthfulness.
The only fault I could discover in this otherwise faultless body was a somewhat crooked insertion of the fore-arm.
As however the capitulum did not project, and the wrist was very narrow, rachitis could not have been the cause in this case.
I have elsewhere (1) published an exactly similar example.
The measurements were:
Length of body, 167 cm.
Length of head, 21 cm.
Length of leg, 88 cm., to the condyle of the femur.
Breadth of shoulder, 38 cm.
Waist, 22 cm.
Breadth of hips, 34 cm.
P e 1 v i s.
Anterior spines, 26 cm.
Crests, 29 cm.
Hips, 33 cm.
Posterior spines, 10.5 cm.
In both women, the pelvic region was especially beautifully formed, the lower boundaries of the sacral triangle made an angle of exactly 90" and the sacral dimples, corresponding to the broad os sacrum, were very well-marked, especially in the latter woman, in whom I could not find a single blemish.
(1) Zeitschrift für Geburtshülfe und Gynakologie, 33, p. 121.



I cannot, unfortunately, add their photographs as vouchers for what I say. The second woman, it is true, allowed me to puhlish a dioptric sketch of her back in the journal I have mentioned, but it has not, for our purposes, the objective value of a photograph.
The matter becomes more difficult, when we have to rely solely on one or more photographs in order to arrivé at an opinion.
In using photographs for determining proportions, one must weed out all those, in which, through the focus being directed to the head, the lower body is much fore-shortened perspectively. This very common fault can easily be seen from the accessories, and the visual point can be fixed.
Absolutely sure results can only be obtained by taking the smallest possible photographs from the greatest possible focal distance, and afterwards- enlarging them. Even then it is advisable to make the measurements on the negatives, because the printing-paper, when it is mounted, becomes pulled in the direction of the greater ductility of the paper.
At the same time many, if not most, of the questions of detail may be settled with fair certitude in good photographs; but an accurate fixing of the proportions is only possible, when the photograph is taken in a symmetrical position from straight in front. And even then it is impossible to fix the length of the body, or the circumference of the chest, in centimetres, and it is consequently impossible to deterinine the weight of the body.
Nevertheless, results which are satisfactory to a certain degree may always be obtained.
I take as an example the photograph of a Viennese girl, which I got through the kindness of Amsler & Ruthard, the art-publishers (See copy of it in Plate 1).
As the upper part of the body is bent slightly backwards, the Fritsch modulus cannot be applied, but the proportions of the figure may be determined by lengths of the head (Fig. 159).
If the head be marked off near the outline on a scale, it can first of all be seen that, in this instance, too, the bodily length is only a little less than 8 heads. If the figure be imagined quite upright, the relation would be about 73A heads. The length of the legs



amounts to pretty nearly 4 heads, so that the centre of the body lies below the upper limit of the pubic hair.
The position of the shoulder-breadth, waist- and hip-breadth is indicated on the figure by dotted lines; on the topmost line, the probable position of the joints, as well as of the exterior shoulderbreadth when the arms are lowered, is marked by little crosses.
Fig. 159. Measurement of the Viennese girl (Plate 1) in heads.



It may be proved, by measuring, that the relation of the three measurements corresponds to the requirenients, and the more so, as the fore-shortening is about the
same in all the three lines.
The right leg is so placed that, with the aid of the Mikulicz line (Cf. Fig. 94), we are able to verify with certainty its perfect straightness.
It may, firstly, be generally said that the body offers good proportions, but that the length of the legs exceeds not inconsiderably the normal average measurement.
For the sake of comparison, I have drawn Fritsch's construction on the outline of another photograph of the same girl (Fig. 160).
To begin with, in spite of the unsymmetrical posture. the line from the nose to the os pubis can there be determined with somewhat greater sureness.
The predominance of the shoulder-breadth over the rest of the latitudinal measurements becomes still more apparent. If Fritsch's fio-ure be constructed, the crown
O
of the head fits exactly into it.
The same is the case with the
left shoulder and breast. The
right shoulder is, together with the breast, somewhat lowered. But this low position depends merely on the attitude ; for the navel and hip-joints are on the proper level. The longitudinal relations are correct in the arm ; for as soon as the low position of
18
Fig. 160. Measurement of the Viennese girl according to Fritsch's modulus.



the shoulder is righted, the measuring-points fall in the joints.
They are rather higher in the legs; and the total heiglit is greater bv li x than is required bv the construction, at the expense of the legs.
The breadth of the head cannot be fixed bv either of the figures.
Both measurements accordingly produce the identical result, that ■lil the proportions are correct, hut that the legs exceed the usual proportions.
That is not a defect; on the contrary, we may look upon it as a beauty, because the middle of the body is, in consequence, bv so much lower in the trunk. And, moreover, the form of the right leg is ascertained to be perfectly normal by the position of the Mikulicz line. It lias at the sanie time a slender bone, and, if we draw the inner tangent, we see that it touches the upper third of the thigh, the knee and the inner ankle-bone The slightly-developed calf does not reach the line, and this, taken in connection with the otherwise correct relations, is a proof that we are dealing with the imperfectlv-developed body of a young woman. tor the rest, all the above-mentioned good points may be recognised in the Plate; we may point out the round elbow, the well-arched thorax, the fine position of the youthful breasts, which are not yet fully developed, and the well-formed foot with the long second toe.
It is especially worth noticing that, in this instance, there is no tracé of rachitis or consumption present.
We have before us a beautiful, healthy bud, which lias not yet reached its highest prime.
Fig. 93 shows the head of the same girl, photographed three years later, in about her twentieth year, by Schmidt in Vienna.
She reminds one a good deal of Kaphael s lornarina. The fuller forrns of the later photograph have not in any way impaired the beauty of the kindly face, as, indeed, the remarkable regularitv of the features might have led one to expect. Attention may be more especially directed to the beautiful structure of the eye and its surrounding parts, which is particularly noticeable.
We have already mentioned the pure shape of the hands.



We have, as a contrast to the slim body of this young woman, the photograph of another Viennese girl of 17, whose forms are fully developed, from the Heid series (Figs. 161, 162, 163 and 164), which has been taken from in front, from the back, and in profile.
It should first of all be remarked that the girl, whose lieight is a little more tlian 7 heads, is quite normally proportioned, when measured by the Fritsch canon (Fig. 164). A more suitable photograph of the same model was chosen for the measurement of the proportions. The centre of the body is directly above the upper edge of the pubic cleft; that is to say, especially low. The legs, measured by the Mikulicz axis, run quite straight, and equal 23/-t heads, that is to say, a quarter of a head more than half the length of the body.
Basing our conclusions on the photographs, we may indicate as excellences: bodily forms which are soft and round, and yet strong, beautv-folds over the eyes, a dimple in the chin, a small, deep navel 'in the head (especially noticeable
Fig. 161. Viennese girl of 17, of' quite normal proportions. Photograph by Heid.
high situation, abundant hair on in Figs. 162 and 163), little hair



on the body, round elbows, a long, softshaped hand with dimples and straight, tapering fingers, straight, long, round legs, narrow knees, round, vigorous calves, softly-outlined, and well-formed feet, with the second toe longest.
In the posterior aspect, I may point out the gentle and yet strong transition from the nape to the shoulder, the well-developed middle dorsal furrow and beautiful sacral dimples, the round, elastic buttocks with a second, doublé convexity beneath them at the inner thigh, the marked prominence of the muscular sinews at the knees, and the womanly shape of the calves. The straightness of the legs is particularly conspicuous in
Fig. 162. The same from behind. tlie posterior aspect.
In profile, the beautiful form of the breasts is noteworthy, in spite of the slack posture. The right breast, which is situated very high, has not fallen, although it is of superabundant fullness; the connecting line with the armpit is clearlv indicated by the powerful



pectoral muscle. In the extended arm, the dimples at the elbow are clearly visible.
Among defects we notice the rather coarse features of the face, the large ears, and the thick ankles.
The early fullness of development of the girl is due partly to her strong muscular system, partly also to her pronounced tendency to stoutness, which is bound very soon to spoil her beautiful, youthful forms.
She has so few good points in her face that, when dressed, she would make little or no impression, because, even when only slightly clothed, she would appear clurnsy.
From the artistic standpoint, the girl was born to be nude, a quality she possesses in common with several classical statues of goddesses.
In the case of a young woman of Scheveningen of 22, who poses as an artist's model, I found very few measurements that deviated from the normal. She is said to be the best professional model of the day. Fig. 165 shows her in national costume; Fig. 166 shows her nude in the same size, in order to draw attention to the different nosition of her waist. In the
, ,, , _ . , . ,, Fig. 1G3. The same in profile.
clothed ngure, the waist is rather
high up, and divides the body in about the ratio of 1 to 2, which when compared with the total length, approxiniates to the division
in the golden cut.
The young woman has
never worn a corset.



The measurements are:
1. Body-length, 152 cm.
2. Middle-lengtli, 80 cm.
3. Head-length, 20 cm.
Fig. 164. Proportions of the Viennese girl of 17.
4. Leg-length, 83.5 cm.
5. Length from nose to os pubis, 58 cm.
6. Shoulder-breadth, 36 cm.
7. Breadtli of waist, 22 cm.
8. Breadth of hips, 32 cm.



9. Distance between nipples, 22 cm
10. Length of foot, 23 cm.
11. Circumference of chest, 90 cm.
12. Breadth of posterior spines, 10 cm.
Pelvis: Breadth of spines, 23.5 cm., breadth of crestes, 26 cm. breadth of hips, 31 cm.
Half the length of the body amounts to 76 cm., so that the centre of the body lies 4 cm. above the lower edge of the pubic hair.
The total length of the body is 7-3 heads. The legs are longer than 4 heads: and the length of the body is equivalent to 6.6 lengths of the foot.
It is a defect that the waist is 2 cm. too wide. When compared vvith Fritsch's canon (Fig. 167), we find that all the principal measurements absolutely coincide with the normal figure, and even exceed them in respect of shoulder-breadth. The coincidence is remarkably striking in the extremities. The nipples, it is true. are lower than is normal, but at the same time they tend further outwards.
The photograph given in Fig. 166 shows that the arms and legs, in especial, are of singularly pure form. The axis of the arm runs perfectly straight (as is clearly visible in the left arnj), whilst in the standing-leg (the left) the Mikulicz line cuts all the joints in the centre.
The breasts exceed the limit of the normal and are beginning to droop. It is accounted for by the particularly large chest measurement (90 cm.) and the low position of the nipples. This, and the fact that the waist is 2 cm. too wide, prove that the young woman lias passed her spring-time. Nevertheless, the body has very beautiful forms. The region of the shoulders is extremely powerfully developed. Fig. 80 exhibits the posterior aspect.
The young woraen of Scheveningen are mainly notable for their wonderfully white, delicate skin and tresb, red cheeks. I hey constitute the prototype of " milk and blood " faces. Our model possesses this natural excellence in a high degree.
In this case, I had at my disposal both measurements and photographs in various positions.
Another exaniple is a Berlin girl of 17, Margarethe E. I was



Fig. 165. Girl of' 22, from Scheveningen.
able to take all the measurements mvself, whilst Professor G. tritsch took photographs in different positions and was so good as to hand



Fig. 166. The sanie undressed. (Posterior aspect. Fig. 80).
theni over to me. And, nioreover, Mrs. 1'aczka lias turned tlie model to artistic account in the most amiable wav.



Thus we have before us, for purposes of coniparison, the measurements of the girl, the photographs of her which are true to Nature, and the artistic conception of the girl.
The measurements are :
Length of body, 166 cm.
Length of head, 23 cm.
Length of leg, 85 cm., up to the condyle of the femur.
Length of step, 79 cm.
Chest-circumference, 85 cm.
Length from nose to os pubis (modulus), 66 cm.
Slioulder-breadth, 38 cm. (Circumference, 92 cm.)
Breadth of waist, 22.-1 cm. (Circumference, 65 cm.)
llip-breadth, 32 cm. (Circumference, 90 cm.)
Distance beween nipples, 19.75 cm.
Height from crown to step, 87 cm.
Pelvis.
Breadth of spines, 23 cm.
Breadth of crests, 27.25 cm.
Hip -breadth, 31 cm.
Posterior breadth of spines, 11 cm.
It foliows from tliis, in the first place, that the length of the head is contained 7.2 times in the length of the body, and that therefore the head is disproportionately large.
The leg is 7 cm. shorter than 4 heads.
The centre of the body lies below the upper limit of pubic liair.
The difference between shoulders and waist is 15.6 cm., and between hips and waist 9.6 cm., or 4 cm. and 2.4 cm. respectively too little.
The shoulders exceed the hips bv 6 cm. instead of 4 cm.
We mav infer therefrom a pronounced preponderance of the shoulder part, which is reminiscent of a male formation, or suggests a too small development of the pelvis.
The pelvic measurements have a difference of 4.25 cm. and 3.75 cm., but are at the same time generally small; so we have a typicallv femininely-formed pelvis, which is nevertheless not par-



ticularly strongly developed in proportion to the size of the body.
Since the posterior distance betvveen the spines is 11 cm., or 1 cm. beyond the measurement, it may be inferred that the pelvis itself is feminine, but that the hollows are only slightly developed.
With regard to the other measurements, it is noteworthy that, in spite of over-short legs, the middle of the body lies below the upper limit of the pubic hair. If we refer to the measurements alone, the fact is inexplicable. What can we infer from the measurements alone ?
First of all, that the girl is not yet fully developed, since the body is too small for the head, and the pelvis, in spite of good measurements, is too small for the shoulders.
We have, besides, to take for granted some defect that caused the shortening of the legs.
This is connected with the
shortening of the whole length ¥iS- ^ c>inon of the y°un*
M o n Schevemngen woman.
of the body, which, calculated
according to the Fritsch system, should be 10*3 submoduli (here = 10.5), or 170.5 cm. instead of 166 cm., and is therefore 4.5 too short.
Of the various photographs of the girl taken by Professor



G. Fritsch, two are reproduced in Figs. I(i8 and 169. They were taken under not especially favourable esternal conditions ; no artistic value is, of course, attached to them; they are intended to be nothing but scientific documents.
I have, to begin with, introduced, for comparison with the absolute measurements, into the outlines of the first photograph (Fig. 168), a few points of the joints and the modulus, and next to it, I have constructed the normal measurements in full line on the modulus, and, following Fritsch's injunction, I have added in dotted lines Margarethe's real measurements. (Fig. 170).
Finally, Fig. 171 represents a scale in head-lengths, with a profile drawing of the girl dioptrically restored after the photograph.
We may now, on comparing the figures, explain a whole series of plienomena, that struek us when we
Fig. 168. A 17 year-old lierlin girl. after , ,.
a photograph by G. Fritsch. compared the measurements.
It is noticeable in Fig. 171
that the sacral region is but little inclined inwards, and in Fig. 168
(corresponding to Fig. 170) that the lines of demarcation of the



i'ig. 109. The same girl, from behind.
abdomen towards the thiglis form a very acute angle. It results therefrom that the pelvic inclination is a very trifling one, that in eonsequence a large portion of the rima vulvae can be seen"from



in front, and that the high position of those parts explains wliy the centre of the body is below the upper boundary of the pubic
i'ig. 170. Margarethe s proportions eompared witu Fritsch's canon.
hair, in spite of the short legs. If, the relations being otherwise the same, the pelvis were more inclined, the centre of the body would be much higher in the abdomen.
The apparent contradiction is thus explained by the coincidence



of two defects: an over-slight inclination of the pelvis, and excessive shortness of the legs.
The shortness of the legs, as appears from Fig. 170, depends mainlv on the shortening below the knee, and, if we look at Fig. 168, we see that we have to deal with a lower leg which is rather crookedlv inserted, and at the same time curved, and, besides, with a sliglit amount of flat-footedness.
In the same way the arms are shortened in the fore-arm, and in Fig. 168 we distinctly perceive the projecting capitulum in the right arm.
Besides the shortening and curvature of the lower leg and fore arm, and besides the projecting capitulum, we have thickening of the wrist and the ankle-bone, which are so many signs of earlier rachitis.
But, in spite of the abnormal shortening of the leg, there still remains a certain disproportion between the length of the head and the length of the body; for even with a length of 170.5 cm., the length of the body is onlv equal to 7.4 heads.
Now, such a proportion shows that a body is not yet fully grown.
But it can also be perceived that, in spite of well-developed muscles, which are very beautifully marked, especially in the upperarm and back, the forms are somewliat angular; moreover, the collar-bones and the overlying muscles are very prominent, all
Fig. 171. Dioptric profile drawing, according to head-lengths.



in consequence of poor developraent of the fat-layer of the skin. This, too, is a token either of bad nourishinent or of incomplete growth. But the fornier alternative is rebutted by the povverful muscling, the well-developed breasts and the smooth skin.
So we have a nuniber of signs that point to the fact, that the girl has not by any means reached her full maturity, that she is half a child, half a young woman.
In an otherwise thin body, the relative size of the mammary glands is remarkable, whilst there is a comparatively small interval between the nipples. This is explained by the great elasticity of the skin, which may be regarded as the greatest excellence of the body in question.
Although the skin at the bosom, as may be particularly seen in Fig. 168, adheres closely to the sternum, it has not yielded in that place at all to the growing mammary gland, and it has only reluctantly yielded in the axilla, so that the largest mass of the gland has turned laterally ; but the nipples have remained at an equal distance one from the other.
Another good point is the beautiful structure of the eye.
Numerous other defects and excellences may easily be discovered on a comparison of the illustrations that are given.
The chief charm is mainly the youthful freshness ; the chief fault, the remains of the English illness.
We shall see in the following chapter, what an artist can make of it.
I think the instances I have furnished sufficiently prove that any given body can be judged by fixed rules, without any matter of personal taste entering into the question ; and so we now proceed to the practical utilitarian application of the aggregate impressions.



XV.
Valuc in art and art-criticism. Models.
As we know the model, we cannot help admiring the refined feeling with which Mrs. Paczka has exalted its excellences and concealed its defects, without, at the same time, ever renouncing the original and therewith fidelity to nature.
Plate V is a faithful copy of the artist's work, which was drawn directly on the aluminium plate.
The attitude chosen reminds one of the Praying Boy in the Berlin Museum.
Mrs. Paczka did not know that the girl had had rachitis, but nevertheless she considered the signs of it ugly and so far toned them down that they are not a disturbing influence.
The legs presented the greatest difticulties; it was a matter of concealing the slight knock-kneedness, the flat-footedness, the thickening of the ankle-joint, and the curvature and shortening of the lower leg.
First of all, the left leg is, as a whole, turned somewhat outwards, whereby its slight knock-kneedness is less strongly marked. In the right leg, the knock-kneedness is motived in a natural way by the inward inclination of the knee, so that it does not produce the impression of a defect.
Moreover, by giving marked prominence to the inclination, the defect is almost made to vanisli from the leg which is not bent.
The curvature of the lower-legs escapes the critical eye, owing to fore-shortening on the right side and a turning on the left, and the deficiency in their length is improved.
The outward-turning of the left foot is sufficiënt to defeat any measuring of straightness by means of the Mikulicz line, and yet again the turning is not so considerable as to expose to view the
19



flat-footedness, as seen in the lowness of the inner margin of the foot.
The defective position of the right foot is entirely obliterated by the movement represented.
The ankle-bones are set a little higher, and drawn as being somewhat more slender.
And so Mrs. Paczka has fulfilled her task in the happiest way by a well chosen position and a few trifling improvements.
The ratio of the head to the length of the body is, in the artwork, as 7 to 1, i.e. still more developed in favour of the size of the head.
The line of demarcation bet ween trunk and legs forms an obtuse angle, and the position is so chosen tliat the pelvic inclination is greatest.
Bv means of the same movement, the pelvic part is brought more forwards, it appears larger and niarks the muscles more distinctly.
The beautiful development of the breasts, and of the muscling of the model in the upper part of the body, is preserved unaltered.
The object of all these artifices is the same, viz., to give yet more prominence to the womanliness and youth of the model.
As she stands before us, she is a half-opened maiden-bud, who saunters with easy step to embrace the smiling future with heiopen arms.
It was far more difficult to conceal the existing faults in the view from behind (Plate VI); in the right leg, which is partially covered, the problem is again solved by the flexing in the knee; in the left, the inward position of the knee is toned down, by putting the pelvis towards the right lower in the hip-joint. But it is undeniable, that the defect has, nevertheless, not entirely disappeared.
The amiable artist must pardon me for using her work in order, at the same time, to analyse a little the artistic soul; but I found the opportunity too enticing for showing that the genuine artist unconsciously bears in himself the standard of the beautiful, and, obeying his feelings, avoids as ugly what we men of science stamp as morbid and defective.
In giving this example, I have said at the same time what my



book is intended to be for an artist. It is not intended to teach hini anything new, it is only intended to provide him with the scientific proof that his feeling is the right one; it is intended to be a sign-post for him in the domain of the beautiful, and to show him that his sense of beauty is subject to the same laws to which we all must bow. We fancy we are impelling, whilst all the time we are being impelled.
It follows from what we have said, that the work of an artist is to a great extent dependent on his model. We have already mentioned at the commencement, that the works of others afford but a bad substitute for it, because they, too, are affected by the model chosen, as well as by the fashion of the period. We may refer again to Dürer's golden words, to return to Nature, and again to Nature. "Art and Nature are one and the same thing," says Lessing.
Thus, for instance, Burne-Jones, in his enthusiasm for the PreRaphaelite ideal, forgot nature, and abandoned his sound, healthy painting in favour of consumptive pictures of the ideal. And, as Fritsch points out,' Stuck, too, in his " Vertreibung aus dem Paradies ", has provided Eva with a layer of fat and made her rickettv. Curiously enough, the same defects occur, though much less conspicuously, in the Birnbaum monograph (Knackfuss 42, Fig. 117, in the study of a model.) The artist has reproduced the defects of the model in an intensified degree.
But, still, one must take heed not to regard everything that occurs in Nature as sterling gold; one must either have a very well-trained artistic perception, or, in doubtful cases, call in the aid of science.
Every painter cannot paint what he pleases; he is often obliged to paint what he can get. This is not only true of portrait-painters, who are often obliged to paint the ugliest faces, for the simple reason that the male or female possessors of them are blessed with earthly goods, but it is also true of painters who are perfectly free in the choice of their subject.
I could mention hundreds of instances, especially among the large number of modern painters, from whose works a fully-occupied



hospital might be gathered. The artists either had no better models, or they did not perceive their faults.
It is not altogether improbable that, as Brücke thinks, in the latter case, love plays a great part.
If we consult literature on the point, we find that, in truth, most writers have observed that it is love, whicli leads a woraan to offer her body to the view of the adored artist.
That is the case in Heyse's Paradies and in Zola's L'Oeuvre; and, in Goethe's Briefe aus der Schweiz, the experienced old matron says, that it is much easier to find a woman who would yield her body to love, than one who would yield it only to the eyes of a man.
Hendrik Ibsen has put the strongest expression of this idea in the mouth of Irene in his play, "When we dead awake". She says in the first act:
"I stretched three fingers towards the heavens and vowed to follow you to the end of the world, to the end of life. And to serve you in all things—in free, unveiled nakedness. I served you with all the beating heart-blood of rny youth, and feil down at your feet, and served you.—But you have sinned against my in most being. I exposed myself to view, as one does when one deliberately means to do so—(in a low voice) and not once did you touch me".
Further on:
Ru bek: "You gave me your beauty, quite naked."
Irene: "But you have forgotten the greatest gift. I gave you my young, living soul—and was empty-breasted—without a soul ".
Irene expresses herself yet more strongly and passionately in the second act:
" I never loved your Art, before I knew you —and not then even.
"The artist I hate. — When I stood before you quite nude as I did, I hated you, Arnold. —I hated you because you were so unmoved—or, at any rate, so self-controlled. And because you were an artist, only an artist—not a man".
It is only human nature that the artist often finds it hard to preserve his objectivity, where a woman in love is concerned.



Another, and, in my opinion, higher conception occurs in Du Maurier's Trilby (p. 95.)
* She was equally unconscious of self with her clothes on or without; she could be naked and unashamed."
It is the same feeling as we see in an uncorrupted child; the first awakening of love destroys it, as is also the case with Trilby.
I have onlv found the highest conception in a single writer, namely, the Dutch Poet Vosmaer.
The beautiful Marciana, in bis Amazone, will only consent to act as model to the artist, after she lias become convinced that lie does not love her.
She is a woman who knows she is beautiful, and undresses herself out of pure love for Art; not in the presence of the man but of the artist, and the great artist.
A similar spirit inspired the beautiful Frau Charlotte Fossetta, the model of Dannecker's celebrated A r i a d n e. She ofïered herself to the artist, whose house she used to visit, with the words: * And do you verily believe that my bodily forms would actually further your Art? Very well then, I am at your disposal, if you think you can create something new, a work of genius".
But there are few woman like Charlotte Fossetta, Agnes Sorel, Paola Borghese, Diana of Poitiers, Lady Digby &c. Those are far more common, who offer themselves as models, for love of the artist. Take for example, the women of Rubens, \ an der Werff &c.
G. Eberlein had a very strange experience. A girl, whom he had used as a model when a child, came now and then to his studio to offer her services. Whilst she was growing up, her body was thin and was not suitable for artistic purposes. But when she reached sixteen and the period of maturity, her forms filled out. And when she visited Eberlein again, he was so astonished by the regular beauty of the young woman's body, that he made in a few days an exact copy of her, according to Nature, in the attitude in which the girl stood nude before him. He took all the measurements himself accuratelv, with the compass, even to the length and breadth of each single finger, of the nails and of the toes, so that, as he said, " there was really no artistic idea in the



matter: 1 was simply copying accurately from Nature." The figure was quite perfectly beautiful (Fig. 172).
The model came a month later, not in order to be copied, but to be used i'or Art purposes. VVhen she was undressed, the forms were seen to be different: not a single measurement corresponded with the earlier ones: the body had grown coarse and fat. So Eberlein had caught on the wing the girl's lost, irrecoverable beauty, aud preserved for posterity what life itself created for that brief month's spring-time of existence.
By an extraordinary coincidence, Professor G. Fritsch took a photograph of the same girl a few months previously (Fig. 173). The body at that time, as can be seen by the picture, was still quite childike in form.
By far the greater nuniber of artists have to put up with paid models, who are chiefly recruited from the poorer, badly-nourished classes, so that it is an exception to
n I ru F1^'.172' find beautiful figures among them.
Gustav Eberlein s young woman. ° °
One of the most perfect artist's models I have ever seen, is the girl of 1G, from whom Iherese Schwartze made her study. The girl, who was born in Amsterdam, had not only a strikingly refined, white complexion, blue eyes, glistening, red-blonde hair, and a healthy, red colour on her cheeks, but also an especially elegant formation of the joints and



Fig. 173. Original of Fig. 172, taken two months earlier.
limbs, and absolutely normal proportions. I had an opportunity of seeing her in the artist's studio. She had not the smallest traces of



rachitis, or disposition to phthisis. Ihe body-measurements were .
Body-length, 165 cm.
Shoulder-breadth, 38 cm.
Waist, 20 cm.
Hip-breadth, 31 cm.
Height of thread, 21 cm.
Distance between nipples, 21 cm.
Length of trunk to the step, 85 cm.
Length of leg to hip-joint, 97 cm.
Pelvis : —
Breadth of spines, 24 cm.
Breadth of crists, 27 cm.
Breadth of protuberances, 31 cm.
The height of the body, therefore, amounted to over 8 heads— a rare phenomenon. The hands and feet were of an uncommonlv beautiful shape.—The girl fully corresponded, in her style, to the description of Trilby. She moved " with easy step" and with rare grace, when she observed that we looked upon her only as a subject of Art, and not merely as a human being. She liked being photographed, too, but, unfortunately, she refused to be photographed again, when the first photograph turned out a failure, and— unwitting of her beauty—she did not visit the artist again, because she had found a better berth as a servant. So the picture, which was to represent a sleeping Psyche, was never finished, because the little Psyche wanted to go int° the kitclien, instead of soaring to Olympus in effigie. But sucli beautiful models are very exceptional.
Among the 100 pictures in Koch and Rieth's well-known " Act", not a single one of the artist's models who are reproduced has a normal body, any more than in Koch s 50 Ireilichtstudien . In Max Peiser's " Kinderact", there is only one girl (Plate 41), who is of normal build. That is to say, one out of 200 whose
profession is to pose as models.
It is quite exceptional to find, among the numerous collections of photographic studies, photographs that make an artistic impiession, and give proof of a proper use of the model. As a rule, the



model is not advantageously postured, or the impression is spoilt by tasteless accessories. Tliere is, however, a distinction to be made in the case of Heid's Viennese studies, whieh are unfortunately rather antiquated, a few of O. Schmidt s \ iennese photo-
Fig. 174. Munich model of 17, with Russian greyhound.
graphs, and a Munich series of Recknagel, which must be allowed to possess artistic feeling.
Fig. 174 is a Munich model of 17. The illumination and grouping are harmoniouslv chosen, the contrast between the slender, smooth girl's body, and the shaggy dog's body is well brought out, all he beauties of the fairly faultless model are done justice to, and



the defects are cleverly hidden; the whole makes a complete artistic impression, whether the group be described as " A nymph of Diana or "A girl with a dog."
If, as often happens, the artist helps himself, by taking one part of the body from one model, and another part from another, he outrages Nature by destroying the individuality. He will never be able to create a harmonious picture in that way.
There are only two ways: either a faultless model, or the expert improvement and concealing of defects, as in the works of Mrs. Paczka. And, in the latter case, a doctor's opinion may often be useful.
I am indebted to my friend, Gustav Eberlein, for an astonishing example of hovv it is possible for an artist to
give a defective bodj the appearance of perfect form, solely by posing.
Figs. 175 and 176 represent one of the young women who servei
Fig. 175. Berlin model of 20.



Eberlein as model for liis " Nymphs and Silenus" (1), and Fig. 177 displays her proportions, compared with Fritsch's canon.
The legs are too short, turn inwards with the knees: the lower legs are curved sabre-fashion, the joints are coarse, and the fore-arms rather short: there is also a certain degree of flat foot. The thorax is broad, but flat, and spoils, in consequence, the shape of the breasts. There are, in addition to these signs of previous rachitis, a morbid lordosis, which is probably also based on rachitis, and an excessive lumbar curvature, which produces a flat sacrum, and an excessive projection of the abdomen forwards and the nates backwards.
Whilst the body exhibits too rnuch fatty formation at the hips, buttocks and thighs, it has good points in its
(1) Cf. Njmphet u n d Silen von G. Eberlein. Stratz. Erster Issay. F. Enke, Stnttgart. 1900.
Fig. 176. Fig. 175 is posterior aspect.



Fig. 177. Proportions of Fig. 175.
strongly-developed muscular system, and its pleasing roundness of youthful form beneath a tense, elastic skin.
The figure is of the type of a beauté du diable, and its chief defects are the short, curved legs, and the pelvis which is too narrow in relation to the chest.



Fig. 178 and 179 represent photographs, posed by Eberlein himself, of the same model; and, in these photographs, the many faults of the model cannot be seen.
The upper part of the body in Fig. 178 is perspectively shortened by the marked inclination forwards, so that the legs appear longer; and the curvature, which is only quite obvious when the leg is extended, is rendered altogether invisible by the slight flexion in the right knee, and the pronounced flexion in the left. Ihe thickset type of the figure is entirely abolished by the extension of the arms, which are seen to the best advantage, with the fine modelling
of their muscles.
The pelvis, which is too narrow in relation to the other latitudinal measurements, is more exposed to the light by the lateral projection and heightening of the right hip, whilst the left hip is lowered, so that it comes into bold relief in outline.
The hollow sacrum is no longer faulty, because it is motived by the necessary extension of the trunk in movement.
The arm, which is stretched upwards in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the body, makes the whole figure seem longer and slimmer, and gives full prominence to the good form of the left breast, which is drawn upwards. I he position of the hands renders the rachitic thickening of the elbows invisible.
The faults of the living model are similarly bidden in the posterior aspect.
Gustav Eberlein told me later himself, that he was, at the time, quite unaware of the anatomical defect of the model. He simply obeyed his artistic feeling in choosing a posture, which should be most suitable and advantageous for artistic purposes, and yet, at the same time, he succeeded, with almost scientific accuracy, in avoiding and concealing the defects.
Here again we have an illustration of the doctrine put forward in the chapter on movement, that the natural attraction of a body can be increased by a proper union of the various factors of flexion and extension.
A great deal is requisite for the creation of a work of Art, but almost more is required for a correct appreciation of it.



Fig. 178. The model of Fig. 175, posed by Eberlein.



Fig. 179. The same, posed in posterior aspect.



The complete critic sliould accurately know the history, the technique of Art, as well as the object represented, and in the case of most men the conibination is almost impossible. The fact tliat there are so many critics, in spite of it, results from the excessive self-esteem of men in general. It never comes more clearly to light than in the appreciation of the portrait of a well-known personage. Everybody thinks he is justified, and is able, to discover all possible and impossible faults.
To pronounce an opinion, whether in praise or in blame, is easy; to give reasons for it is difficult, and yet it is the actual duty of an expert critic. I trust that the brief indications which I have strewn in, in the course of my work, may contribute to the purging of the better among the art-critics in this respect too. It is necessary to know something, in order to be able to judge.
XVI.
Directions for the Mainteriancc and improvcmcnt of Femalc Beauty.
The man, who has been initiated into the mysteries, is astounded at the abundance of means possessed by woman, for the purpose of simulating advantages she has not got, and thus concealing defects so cleverly, that they are turned into advantages. Woman is mistress ot those arts, and it would be presumptuous to attempt to give her further instructions about them; it would be carrying coals to Newcastle.
All means are allowable to the person who has defects and wants to hide them, and if a woman intends, in the service of fashion, to spoil her body yet more, which was originally defective, in order to resemble her more lucky sisters, she does not need any outside advice.



It is not my intention to publish, as in a cookery-book, recipes for beauty, or a list of the numerous secrets of the toilet, which have become known to me; I wish rather to point out how every woman may best develope the gifts lent her by Nature, and, since they can be most affected, favourably or unfavourably, in the growing age, I address my words chiefly to mothers.
1 have already stated that beauty is individual, that we have therefore no niathematically defined form of beauty, but that it consists in the highest development of an individual within the unalterable, permanent bounds of normal g r o w t h.
Directions can, therefore, be given only for the permanent bounds; but, even liere, the advice and experience of an expert is frequently necessary, and I will gladly take upon myself the reproach of holding an oratio pro domo, after first pointing out how great a part in woman's life is played by the doctor.
I do not believe that it is unnecessary. At any rate, it has been for years customary in England for a wliole family, and especially its fernale members, to make a yearly pilgrimage to the dentist, in order to have their teeth examined, whether they are good or bad.
No people, however, but the English, show their teeth, so long as they are still sound, and all other parts of the body are neglected by everyone, English included.
There are certainly a few exceptions, and it has happened to me, as, no doubt, now and again, to every doctor, that a mother has had her daughter examined, in order that she may be sure that she is not ill.
How much niischief could be prevented, if that custom were universal, and if, in such cases, neither the mother nor the doctors allowed themselves to be prevented, by a kind of false shame, from making the examination as thorough as the seriousness of the matter demands.
It is generally much easier to recognise a clearly marked malady, than to examinine a body for the purpose of ascertaining that it has no malady, or traces of any.
20



Care for the body of a girl really begins before her birth, because excessive tight-lacing during pregnancy is capable of spoiling the child's body for live. But the most grievous sins are usually committed in the period of growth and maturing.
I do not imagine to myself that I shall succeed in niaking many proselytes—old Sommering died nearly a century ago, and corsets are still worn—but, if I have converted only one or a few mothers, this book has not been written in vain.
Thefirst rule is: Loose clothes before and tightclothes af ter the childbirth, in the mother's interest and in that ot the child.
Every pressure disadvantages the space for the child that is coming, and hampers it in its development. The abdominal wall, which is at great tension, even at this period, becomes forced by outside pressure yet more out of its natural position, the muscles gi-ow slack. and are never able to regain their former elasticity.
In the last months of pregnancy, bandages are advisable in the place of corsets; these bandages support the bellv below the navel, and raise, without pressing.
In order to maintain the elasticity of the skin, and, consequently, the beautiful form of the breasts and lower-belly, it is well, especially in the latest period of pregnancy, to wasli those parts thoroughly and frequently, at least twice a day, with a solution (as cold as possible) consisting of alcohol 30 percent above proof.
After childbirth, especially during the first weeks, the abdominal wall sbould be held in its place and supported by tight-fitting clothes, until it lias regained its full elasticity. This is generallv the case after six weeks. Every day less is one stone more 011
the grave of beauty.
In England, when a girl marries, she has an abdominal bandage o'iven her at the same time, which exactly fits the shape of her maiden bellv. It is put on immediately after childbirth, and presses a little on the first and second days, but afterwards operates beneficially, through the support it gives, and preserves the vouthful form of the abdomen.
Indian women, whose example is now folio wed by many Dutch



«omen, bandage the lower-belly very tigbtly after childbirth using for the purpose the .Japanese gurita (Fig. 180).
The gurita is a bandage consisting of two four-cornered linen
Fig. 180. Indian gurita.
flaps joined together in the middle. The outer flap is split, on each side, into from five to ten strips. The inner, unsplit flaps are drawn tightly round the bell.y, and, where necessary, a folded cloth is laid under tliem in order to increase the pressure, and then the ends of the outer strips are tightly tied in the middle. Every single knot
Every single knot



can then be tightened or loosened, as may be required, without taking off the gurita. A gurita, that reaches to the middle of the thigh (a), gives still more support.
But Germany, France, and other civilised countries, in which the lacing-in of the lower-belly after weaning is neglected, and even foolishly condemned by some doctors, are the homes of pendulous paunches.
Tiglit-fitting garments are suitable for the mother after childbirth, and loose ones for the child. The more freely it can move, the better its limbs and thorax can stretch and develope.
Therefore, the second golden rule for a growing girl is: Loose clothes and free movement. And this holds good not onlv of the suckling, but during the whole period of growth.
Natural as it appears, it is a rule which is very generally disobeyed. The idea of free movement is, especially often, wronglv conceived. The playing of children, which is naturally inborn in them, furthers their development much more than the systematic practise of gymnastics, in which every child is expected to do the same thing, without consideration for individual bodily strength.
Attempts made too early to teach a child to walk are injurious. When it has the needful strength, it will run of its own accord. But if it is forced to do so too early, its weak legs beconie bent.
Idle children are generally also weaklv children. When a child grows, it has more need for rest than an adult. It is well to advise children to sit straight; but to put them on bad chairs without a back, in order to compel them to it, is a sin, for which the child, when grown up, atones with a bent back.
The third golden rule is: Strengthening nourishment, fresh air, and plentiful sleep. They are for the intestines, lungs and nerves, what loose garments and free movements are for the bones, muscles, and, consequently, the bodily form. And, as all parts of the body are connected together, it is necessary to take care of all uniformly.
The fourth golden rule is: Pay attention to the skin, and, for that purpose, the dailv use of abundant soap and water is an article of female cosmetics, which is far from being sufficientlv appreciated.



Dirty children may be beautiful, but, after all, it is only a testimony to the indestructibility of huraan nature, and is no argument against the counsel to increase the activity of the skin, and therewith the beauty of the body, bv the most scrupulous cleanliness.
Who knows, how much prettier Murillo's gipsy boys might not have been, if they had washed regularly!
When a girl ripens into a young woman, she falls a victim to the corset, and the less " figure" she lias, the sooner.
Brücke (1) has already pointed out that it is precisely the Backfische with thick-set forms who '"grow into the most beautiful figures", as soon as they shoot up.
The earlier the corset is put on, the more the tigure and the complete development of the bodily forms are spoilt. I have already dwelt on the pernicious consequences of corsets. Let me again state here, that I by no rneans condemn the corset as such, but only its abuse.
The corset is an excellent support for the burden of the clothes which cover the lower part of the body, and it helps to distribute their pressure over a larger surface.
In order to answer that purpose, it must satisfv three requirements :—
It must rest on the hips, so tliat it does not press the soft parts too much.
It must sit loosely, in order neither to hamper the movements of the body, nor to cramp the subjacent organs, the stomach, the liver and the intestines.
It should not reach up high, so as neither to hinder the breathing, nor to check the dorsal muscles in their movement and development.
It should lastly be added, that the weight of the underclothes ought to be as small as possible; the fewer and the lighter the underwear, the easier the task of the corset.
Of all the varieties known to me, the corset ceinture, like that of which a model is exhibited in Paris by Madame Gache-
(1) 1. c., i>. 71.



Sarraute, doctor of medieine, and wbich is also suited for stout persons, is the best and most natural.
The question when to begin corsets is as difficult to decide generally, as the moment of highest prime. Before that time, ït is harmful ; during and after it, advisable. But since the moment, as I have explained above, comes sometimes in the fifteenth year, sometimes in the thirtieth and still later, a decision is only possible
in an individual case.
It may, at any rate, be said, that a corset should not be worn, until the hips are so broad that they afford a support without laci ng.
And will you now, respected reader, lay aside your corset V No, certainlv not. Pray, then, have pity at least on your innocent daughter. and prevent her from distorting her body too early. Later on, she will, of course, do so of her own accord, but then you will certainly have nothing to reproach youi'self for.
The second dark spot in our humanization is the foot. Mrs. Paczka assured me that she had never seen a beautiful female foot. I have been more fortunate, but not very often. The feet, too, are generally spoilt in vouth, and not in the Middle Kingdom alone.
Innumerable are the sisters of Aschenbrüdel, who hold no sacritice too great in order to force their feet into boots too sniall for them. The monstrous custom would only cease, if naked feet or sandals were again to come into faslnon. That that, however, will never come to pass, is ensured by the numerous representatives of the fair sex, whose feet are no longer fit to be seen. Only a few will have the courage to give up the boot which is too small for them, in order to possess a beautiful foot.
Proper garters are now commoner than they were a few years ago; but there is much improvement needed even yet. It is best for children and young girls not to wear stockings, but soeks, which do not hamper the leg anywhere (1).
(1) There is a very detailed discussion, from the scientific and yet general standpoint, which is especially valuable in regard to the making of clothes, in L. Pfeiffer's Handbuch der angewandten Anatomie, 1899, Spanier, Leipzig.



In conclusion, I modestly venture to give the advice, that a woman's doctor should be allowed the opportunity of nipping in the bud, by timely treatment, the morbid germs which are often carefully hidden. And now, 1 think, I have rougbly mentioned everything that can be done for the salvation and well-being of a growing woman.
The future will show, whether I have been preaching to deaf ears. One thing, ho wever, is certain, namely, that the beauty of the female body is nothing but the conception of its highest health.
And the beauty of the soul? Happy is he who lias been in a position to know thorouglily a beautiful woman's soul. But to write about it is a sin, for it can onlv be feit in the deepest depths of the heart.