The most recent attempt at art censorship comes from a petition started by someone named Mia Merrill who complained about a Balthus painting at the Met titled Thérèse Dreaming. I suggest that Ms. Merrill next task should be to have Nabokov’s Lolita removed from libraries and burned.
![](https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ma/web-large/DP307783.jpg)
Thérèse Dreaming by Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) c. 1938
Notice the progression of her argument—it begins with the image and its description. Then, she makes a judgment about Balthus’ personal life, and ends with the main reason of why the painting should be removed.Read the article in Splice Today by Emina Melonic here.
![](https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ma/web-large/DP307783.jpg)
Thérèse Dreaming by Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) c. 1938