在画《九月清晨》的时候,保罗·埃米尔·查巴斯(1869-1937年)已经成为一名学院艺术家,並获得了良好的声誉。他定期参加巴黎沙龙,第一次参加是在1886年。 他在1895年的沙龙上获得了三等奖章,[11] 四年后,他的画作《Joyeux ébats》赢得了国家大奖赛,[12] 这使他在1900年的世界博览会上获得了金牌,而这幅画也被Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes收购。[13][14]接下来的几年里,查巴斯冬天在巴黎工作,夏天则在河边、湖边和海边描画年轻女子。[15] 1902年,他被授予法国荣誉军团勋章。[b][12][16]
查巴斯在1912年4月14日至6月30日的巴黎沙龙上首次展出了《九月清晨》。[9]由于他不打算卖掉它,所以他给出了5万法郎(1万美元[f])的标价,他预计没有人会愿意出这么高的价格。[33][41]由于这幅画和他的《阿斯顿·奈特夫人的肖像》,查巴斯获得了荣誉勋章,在沙龙上获得了359票中的220票,[42]并且《九月清晨》在沙龙上并未受任何争议,[43][44]很快就在美国出版物上重印,譬如《Town & Country》[43]和《The International Studio》。[45]
在陪审团面前,伊利诺伊州的艺术审查员耶利米·奥康纳作证,称《九月清晨》内容淫秽,不应公开展示,而只能在博物馆展出。[k] W. W. 芝加哥副委员会的哈勒姆也赞同,认为画中女子在公共场合非法沐浴,所以《九月清晨》必须被禁止。[43][55]检方的其他证人包括审查员、教育家和神职人员,例如监督员艾拉·弗拉格·杨和青少年保护协会的负责人格特鲁德·豪·布里顿。[53][55][56]
同样地,还有一些以《九月清晨》为灵感的歌曲也发行了。音乐家弗兰克·布莱克和鲍比·希斯根据这幅画创作了一首名叫《九月清晨》的歌曲,[69]芝加哥的奥布里·斯托弗发表了吉莱斯皮和坦尼希尔 的音乐剧《哦,你的九月清晨》的乐谱(用于人声和钢琴)。[69]在叮砰巷,亨利·马歇尔创作了两首作品,一首用钢琴创作的华尔兹舞曲,名为《Matin de Septembre》;另一首为人声和钢琴创作的作品《九月清晨》(我想要见她),由斯坦利·墨菲作词。这两首歌都由杰罗姆·雷米克公司于1913年出版。[65][86][87]
^Original: "Toute la gracilité de l'adolescence, son charme indéfinissable, sa nudité chaste..."
^Some sources erroneously give 1912 (such as Time 1957 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTime_1957 (help)); this would have been impossible, as the painting was displayed at the Salon in May 1912.
^In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune, O'Connor stated that he personally liked the painting, but considered it "embarrassing for women to look at" and thought displays would have a negative impact on young boys. He drew a comparison with the Bible, explaining that it "may be good reading for people who understand it, but some chapters are not intended for young folks" (Chicago Daily Tribune 1913).
Sometime, glad time, in Arcady, I want
to live a day
With Joy's slim daughter of the dawn
to teach my love the way;
To live a day without the clothes, the
coin, the masquerade
That burden so the struggle here—of
hypocrites afraid.
Sometime, dear time, in Arcady, im-
mune from 'pure' police
I hope to find the picture true, that
caught its light from Greece;
To be as true to life, dear life, as is the
painter's dream
Within the dawning of the day where
new ideals gleam.
^Comstock had spearheaded laws at the end of the 19th century which prohibited the inter-state commerce of material deemed indecent or pornographic. Though he had wide popular support, he also had numerous detractors. Comstock boasted that he had seized more than 160 tons of indecent material during his career (Healion 1964,p.42). He was not averse to arresting art dealers he considered to be peddling reproductions of obscene works; in 1887, for instance, he had arrested Roland Knoedler of the Knoedler Gallery for selling nudes painted by artists such as William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Jules Joseph Lefebvre (Beisel 1998,p.109).
^Modern sources stating that it was the original include Brauer (2011, p. 124) and Sterling & Salinger (1966, pp. 222–223), whereas modern sources describing the controversial image as a print include Taylor (2012, p. 166). Contemporary reports are less ambiguous. One describes the controversial image as "grac[ing] a frame less than a foot high" (The Sun 1913, Nude Maid), and in 1933 Ortiz stated that it was a print (Middletown Times Herald 1933).
^Other versions are phrased "There's too little morning and too much maid!" (Monfried 1971,p.9), or include further lines such as "It ought to have been pitch dark for a girl to go wading like that" (The Tuscaloosa News 1937). The version told by Monfried (1971, p. 9) includes Comstock commenting on Jean-François Millet's The Goose Girl while leaving. Yet another quote is given by Ellis (1975, p. 92): "That is not a proper picture to be shown to boys and girls! There is nothing more sacred than the form of a woman, but it must not be denuded. I think everyone will agree with me that such pictures should not be displayed where school children passing through the streets can see them."
^DVD commentary on the "October Eve" episode by Dick Van Dyke and Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke Show: Complete Remastered Series DVD Set, Image Entertainment, 2015.