#the boy with the beautiful eyes

A second stunning close-up portrait of the boy with the beautiful eyes by Plüschow - not the sort of photograph I would usually post here, with the emphatic religious symbolism overwhelming the scene (indeed it is titled The Christian Martyr), but look beyond the trappings of his saintly role and we see simply the beautiful face of a young man who lived over a century ago.

His portrait taken around 1900 by Guglielmo Plüschow, this young man’s sublimely beautiful strong-featured face is unforgettable. We have seen him several times before, and I have found more of his photographs to post in future, so he ought have a tag all his own; his name is sadly unknown, so I shall just collect his photographs under the boy with the beautiful eyes.

A strikingly handsome young man with intensely soulful dark eyes, photographed in Rome in the late 1890s, by Guglielmo Plüschow.

A gorgeous photograph by Plüschow, featuring a strikingly handsome model we have seen before, in a garland of flowers, and bearing more blossom in his hands. Flowers appear again here, as a painted motif on the wall behind him, and printed on the fabric pinned at his shoulder. Note also the tabby cat, seemingly quite comfortable lounging across this lap - was this his own friend or owner, or was he simply an amiable stray recruited from the street?

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.

An alternate version of this photograph by Guglielmo Plüschow, showing much crisper light than the close-up - as they were taken outdoors, not with studio lighting, maybe we see here the difference between full sun and the softening shade of a cloud. This handsome model has featured in a selection of other pictures, you can see them all collected here.