#classical nude

Despite being titled merely “Boy with Spear”, I (and all those who have followed for long enough to recognise one of the undoubted stars of this collection) can add that the classically handsome 19-year-old model in question is none other than Vincenzo Galdi. We have even seen him holding this spear once before.

Though dark and indistinct, this von Gloeden photograph is still an evocative image of lazy, languid relaxation, catlike he stretches in the sun, a contented sigh, can’t you almost hear the hum of insects all arund him, and the birds in the wide flawlessly blue summer sky.

Another of F. Holland Day’s dreamily beautiful Orpheus photographs, featuring (the also dreamily beautiful!) Nicola Giancola. At first I thought this a cropped detail of a photograph I had seen and shared before, but the angle changes between exposures.

A sublime photograph in which everything is perfect - the fine-featured young model with luscious curves and dramatic pose, the poignant, tragically picturesque ruins of Pompeii, the sunlight drawing delicate shadows on his ribs, even the detailed carving along the edge of the step adds to one beautiful image.

Youth with Staff Shielding Eyes, by F. Holland Day, 1906. Curiously this picture seems to be found only in this shape, I’d be interested to see the entire photograph but as some other of Day’s work appears to be cut into unusual shapes, it’s possible the original was trimmed and we shall never know what this model’s elbows looked like!

A bonus post for this leap-year’s added day - a splendid selection of the most beautiful bums in antique photography! (Each description below links to the individual post, should you wish to single them out.)

1.A man with a sword, unknown, 1910s
2.A model from Rome, by Vincenzo Galdi, 1910s
3.Edoardo in Pompeii, by Guglielmo Plüschow, c1895
4.Vincenzo Galdi in Naples, by Guglielmo Plüschow, c1890
5.Bill Duckett, by Thomas Eakins, between 1887-1892
6. A piper, by Guglielmo Plüschow, 1890s
7.Tom White on Newporth Beach, in association with Henry Scott Tuke, 1917
8.Nino Cesarini, by Guglielmo Plüschow, c1910
9.A cyclist, by Guglielmo Plüschow, circa 1900.
10.A trio of models, by Wilhelm von Gloeden, 1890s.

Presented as a triptych of three images mounted on board, this glowingly gorgeous dreamlike photograph was taken by F. Holland Day in 1909. It is well worth a few seconds of your time to linger here but a moment, and view this at full size.

A difficulty in curating this collection into its third year is remembering all that I have featured before - just this afternoon I almost posted a photograph I had shown a long time ago (this, if you wonder what was so pretty I was enamoured all over again). I did catch my error in time, and instead have found a different yet no less lovely photograph by F. Holland Day, to fulfil the intended amount of dreamy delicate images he so perfectly supplies.

A few months ago I posted two different copiesofone gorgeous photo by von Gloeden, depicting one of his favourite models, usually known by his nickname Il Moro. Here we see a second shot from his posing in this little secluded sun-trap, shifting position just a little his arm now curls around the olive jar which decorates the set.

Nude Man with Harp, 1908-10. Posed and lit with such an artistic eye, Frank Eugene’s photography is truly magnificent, his male nudes depicted as glorious and graceful as his female models; indeed he is one of the first to present the male body as a thing of beauty to be admired in photographic art.

With a twisted garland tied into his tousled hair, this von Gloeden model strikes an elegant pose in the ruins of an ancient Roman building, the bright sun catching and emphasising his curves.

A timelessly handsome young man poses for Plüschow around the turn of the last century, seated high on a pillar in the temple of Juno Sospita at Rome’s Civita Lavinia (now Lanuvia). 

A fine photograph of a fine young man, blessed with sublime beauty and dressed to highlight not hide his charms; the breathtakingly lovely Antonio or ‘Nino’ Cesarini. Immortalised in all these gorgeous pictures by Guglielmo Plüschow in Capri, circa 1905.

Photographed by Arnold Genthe in the 1910s, with perfect pin-sharp focus on the single sunlit figure and the panpipes he holds in his hands. 

The glorious Nicola Giancola, photographed by F. Holland Day in the early years of the 20th century, but utterly timeless in beauty and sensuality. A much-improved copy of this exquisite photograph, I make no apologies for a repeat when the image is so breathtaking!

A stunning portrait of Antonio Cesarini, known to those who loved him (including the painter Jaques d'Adelswärd-Fersen) as Nino, photographed by Guglielmo Plüschow on the terrace of Villa Lysis, Capri. A timeless masculine beauty, made truly everlasting in these bewitching photographs from around 1905 - this is an especially large and lovely copy, do click through for a closer look!
I’ve featured a version of this image before, usually I endeavour to avoid repeats but this time I think you may agree it worthwhile : in my first copy there was some careful editing to preserve his modesty with a deep darkened shadow, here we see the unspoilt original.

Torso, by F. Holland Day, 1906, a photograph I’ve shared before but never such a large and beautiful copy as this here, all the better to appreciate the noble model and sheer perfection of lighting! 

A marvellous example of the Arcadian artistic nudes which so beautifully fill the catalogue of Wilhelm von Gloeden; this a much larger copy than most and well worth expending an extra moment of your time to open up the full size view. 

Beautiful! Dark haired flower-garlanded youth with a stern yet seductive face, bearing twigs of pale blossom - from almond trees, perhaps? By Guglielmo Plüschow, Italy.

“Hello? Sorry old chap, can’t talk right now, I’m having my photograph taken”. I cannot help but imagine a modern telephone where there clearly is not one.