An article on illustrator Patrick J. Monahan that I found interesting mainly for the photo of him working in his studios, and the accompanying photos, one of which reminds me of the woman frequently seen in Monahan’s pulp covers. Plus a reminder that the views expressed in this article are Monahan’s and do not carry my endorsement 🙂
BEAUTY CLASSIFIED AT LAST! ARTIST OUTLINES SEVEN TYPES
Stick to Your Own Class, Is Monahan’s Advice
Women the world over, statuesque and petite, blonde and brunette, debutantes and business girls, all can be identified, as belonging to one of seven types of beauty, according to Patrick J. Monahan, artist, who for the past fifteen years has painted pretty girls for the magazine covers of almost every publishing house in the United States.
“When a model comes to my studio and wants to pose for me I classify her as one of the seven types immediately,” says Monahan. “Years of studying art and painting have convinced me that my classification holds good for all womankind.
“All seven of these types of women are equally beautiful, but they are different. Each of us, naturally, prefers one type to the others. Some women look like flowers, some like birds, others are so animated that they suggest dancing flumes of fire.”
Tiny and Alert.
The Sparrow Type of girl is unusually attractive to some persons, Mr. Monahan points out. He calls her The Sparrow Girl because she is so tiny and alert. In her manner she is bright and gay. Mary Pickford, with her pretty golden curls and happy manner, represents this type, according to the artist. She appeals to children, as she is more nearly like them than women of the other six types. Old persons, too, love the Sparrow Girl, for she embodies vivacity and life in contrast to the traunquillity that thus come to them with age.
“The Violet Girl,” says Mr. Monahan, “is related closely to her sister, the Sparrow Girl. Instead of being vivacious and bubbling over with spirits, the Violet Girl is shy, petite and retiring. She may be coquettish, for she is not necessarily timid, but she must be sought out. Those who do seek her find her irresistible. On the stage Eva Le Gallienne so frequently suggests this type in the characters she portrays that I should almost call her the Violet Girl. Usually this kind of girl marries the athletic man—the football hero or the adventurer who is drawn to her by the reticence that is so unlike his aggressiveness in sports and business.
Ideals Inspire Her.
“Most inspiring of all the seven types of women is the type that suggests a vivid, leaping flame of fire. Such a woman is creative in the arts. She is inspired by ideals. If the Flame Woman is inclined to be religious she remains true to her ideals. If she is not tempered by religious influences she tends to become ruthless and destructive in and through her ability in art. Plotting is easy for her and she does not scruple to accomplish her ends. If she is faithful to her art, whatever it may be, she sacrifices all to it. Musicians and artists suggest any number of representatives. The personnel of Metropolitan Opera singers contains many women of this type— Jeritza and Homer; the artists offer Neysa McMein and among dancers there are Mine. Galli and Ruth St. Denis. They can’t be described as to feature and complexion, but they do have in common that animation that plays over their faces, bringing out lights and shadows constantly.”
A representative type dear to hearts the world over is the Mother Type. A woman thus identified is not necessarily mature. All women are potentially the Mother Type, Mr. Monahan points out, but some girls at seventeen indicate by their appearance and manner that they are primarily of this group. Usually they incline to roundness of figure.
Their faces are placid. less of the hectic strain, bred of jazz dance and night life, shows in their faces. Her interests are broader than the welfare of her immediate friends. If she is a country woman, she expresses her interest in fresh baked apple pies for the neighbors; if she is a city woman, she reaches out to better living conditions in her community. Ethel Barrymore suggests this type of woman, according to Mr. Monahan, in spite of the many times she has played haughty society roles on the stage.
They’re Everywhere.
Everywhere about us, from every town that has a population of three thousand or more to New York, you find the pretty girl. This girl is just as pretty in her own way as any other girl anywhere in the world. She is of medium height, has mediumly thick eyebrows. Her neck is plump, pretty and well filled out.. She has dimples tucked in here and there, too. Her greatest pleasure is the society of men friends, but she may be happy married to any one of fifty men in her own social circle. She’s everywhere, and she may look like Francine Larrimore or Genevieve Tobin or Violet Heming or any one of thousands of other lovely typical American girls. She is happy and light hearted. She may be likened to a canary bird according to Mr. Monahan.
Rare, indeed, yet fascinating is a woman of the Exotic Type. Mr. Monahan says:
“Her eyes are oblique. Her mouth is a natural cupid’s bow. Aside from that she may be tall or short; well rounded or sylphlike. Men cannot resist her. She has many lovers and is true to them all at the same time.
“Cleverness in a woman of this type runs toward genius, although all these women are not necessarily clever. Frequently the Exotic-Woman is stimulated more by personal vanity than artistic ambition. She draws her train of admirers to her to satisfy her craving for admiration rather than to help her accomplish some ideal. She is usually selfish. In appearance Mildred Harris or Nazimova portray this type. Mme. Du Barry, a superwoman of past ages, was one of this group. Many of these women have made history and they will continue to make history as long as their type exists.”
A type that is found more frequently as time goes on is the Spiritual Type. This woman is tall and slender. Her eyebrows are thin and delicately curved. Her ears are small. She is not beautiful in the sense that her features are perfectly blended; her charm lies rather in her mental appeal. Intense idealism characterizes her. Loyalty is a fundamental creed, especially loyalty to the man she believes, or wants to believe, approaches perfection as she sees it. She is impatient with her own shortcomings and not always generous of others’ shortcomings. Frequently she is blinded by her idealism to’ the true qualities evidenced by her friends. She is capable of intense suffering and experiences extreme happiness. Sarah Bernhardt was a woman of the Spiritual Type.
“The Canary Girl is the most popular of all these seven classes of woman. You like the Canary Girl for your friend and companion. The public would rather look at the Canary Girl than any of the other six types on the cover of the magazines today. She has the most constant following on canvas and in person,” said Mr. Monahan.
“A girl should never try to become any other type than the one nature intended her to be.
Faithful to Type.
“Every woman should know definitely to which type she belongs, and then try by dress, by manner, and thoughts to cultivate the best in her type. All types are equal artistically; it’s faithfulness to your type that counts. A blonde is prettier than a brunette in the day time. At night a brunette’s vivid coloring gives her the preference.
Here’s a boost for New York girls.
“New York girls, as a whole, are more artistically personable than the girls of any place, in spite of the prevalence of make up,” adds the artist.
“The New York girl is prettier than girls from other places because she is more alert in her manner. Here she is ‘up on her toes’ every minute with the demands of business through the day and in the evening she is animated with the joy of living. She hasn’t time to become dull and tired-looking as she might if she went moping away by herself.”
This painting, one of two extant Monahan paintings that I know of, features a typical Monahan woman looking sideways at something out of the frame. I’d say resembles Nazimova (the Exotic Woman) from Monahan’s interview above. Your thoughts are welcome.