#vincenzo galdi

A gorgeous Italian photographed by Vincenzo Galdi - I keep finding these wonderful portraits of captivating young men from a century ago, they are all gone now but that makes their pictures all the more poignant and beautiful.

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.

Basking lazily in the Mediterranean sun, two handsome young men photographed by Vincenzo Galdi. I believe that’s a lobster pot, perhaps these models were fishermen earning a little extra income by posing for photographs (or maybe Galdi just chose to place a prop there)

Is it just my imagination, or does the tanned young fellow on the right seem to be staring directly at a certain part of his companion? That’s no detached gaze into the middle distance, dear boy - whether it’s admiration or jealousy I cannot tell but that’s definitely where his attentions are focused!

I’m sorry, sir - your deeply dark seductive come-to-bed eyes, whilst alluring in the extreme, cannot be taken at all seriously when you’re wearing that. One of Vincenzo Galdi’s most sexy and daring models, early 20th Century Rome.

Our regular dose of Carlo, lover of Robert Kitson and photographed by Vincenzo Galdi. I still have a few more from his photoshoot saved up ready to share, I do hope you dear readers not becoming bored seeing so many of the same model, but he is rather lovely so I shall continue until I run out of pictures!

Edoardo with Vincenzo Galdi, photographed by Guglielmo Plüschow in the 1890’s, in a pose perfectly capturing homoerotic longing and lust - a desire satisfied in the tentative tender kiss found later in this set.

A fine young man displays his body for the camera with pride in this early 20th century nude. Though I don’t recognise the model from other images, the fabrics here indicate this to be by Vincenzo Galdi, the same pieces can be seen in many of his photographs (such as that dear favourite, the full-length portrait of Carlo)

Turn of the century titilation courtesy of Vincenzo Galdi, a smutty delight in an era where male nudity was generally presented as artistic innocence. Instead, he relishes the opportunity to provide startlingly saucy erotica featuring handsome Italian men, well-built, and often extremely well-endowed. We’ve seen a similar single shotbefore.

His shoulders enfolded in a thick cloak, this Galdi model shows not the slightest bit of shyness in flaunting his lower half, legs parted to expose all to the sun, and the viewer’s admiring eye. Vincenzo Galdi has seated his anonymous models on these dark volcanic rocks before, here andhere.

With his model draped in such a wanton, utterly deliciously debauched way, inviting not mere aesthetic admiration but outright lust and thoughts of satisfying deepest desires, turn-of-the-century photographer Vincenzo Galdi pushes way beyond the limits of decency in his era; abandoning all pretence of innocent artistic intentions, he creates some of the most startlingly sexual images of male nudity yet seen.

The rather indistinct hazy quality of this picture by Vincenzo Galdi does not detract from the loveliness of the scene, which reminds me of this other image from the same photographer - perhaps even the same model there on the right.

Vincenzo Galdi, photogaphed again by Guglielmo Plüschow - this time his beauty left to shine unembellished by the usual garlands of leaves or flowers, a simple portrait to capture an unforgettable face for all eternity.

Another gorgeous portrait of Vincenzo Galdi by Plüschow, this often-repeated pose perfect to highlight his handsome profile and beautiful neck & jawline, his hair a ruffled mess of curls when let to grow longer.
Beginning his involvement with photography as a model, he went on to become a photographer in his own right, breaking all boundaries between the sensual nude and provocative erotica - see my collected examples of his work here.

The utterly gorgeous Vincenzo Galdi, posing in profile for his mentor Guglielmo Plüschow c1890. We have seen a remarkably similar shot before, just a slight shift in position, his eyes raised a little here and more downcast in the other, and more flowers tucked into his hair - I imagine model and photographer poring over the developed prints, discussing which they preferred.

A fine example of Vincenzo Galdi’s unreservedly raunchy homoerotic scenes from the early years of the twentieth century.
There’s some debate on whether we see here a cleverly constructed duplication of the same ravishing model photographed in two poses, or twins - the profiles appear to differ in the other shot, though that may just be the angle of the heads, and it seems to me that the man on the left both times has tanned legs, while the one on the right, does not. And yet their bodies are so remarkably alike that they must surely be the same man twice! A puzzle indeed. What do you think?

An exquisite and utterly captivating solo portrait by Vincenzo Galdi, featuring a young man who appears in many of his photographs (notably here, and in this lovely image) - and it is little wonder he was so favoured, with that handsome face! 

Vincenzo Galdi as a smouldering, sultry young man of nineteen, posing for Guglielmo Plüschow in Naples c1890, dainty narcissus flowers tied into his tousled black curls. 

Portraits create such a powerful sense of a moment captured and kept, a fine face made everlasting; as we look upon this strong-featured anonymous Italian, know he was photographed by Vincenzo Galdi a little over a hundred years ago.

Not the finest image quality, nor the most inspiring pose, but still rather a splendid sight to behold - one of Vincenzo Galdi’s wonderfully well-chosen male models from turn-of-the-century Rome. 

The charismatic and timelessly beautiful Vincenzo Galdi, posing for Guglielmo Plüschow (who would become his lover) in Naples, some time before 1895. In this photograph from the same set, he is joined by Edoardo, and in another they share a sweet kiss upon the lips.