#vintage male nude

A further photograph of the magnificently muscular body builder Eugen Sandow, by Napoleon Sarony of New York. 

A gently beautiful nude portrait by J. G Paine, c1920, though sadly the sitter’s name is not credited - rather than the quaint and faintly comical censorship by carefully placed leaf, favoured in earlier decades, this time the charming model’s modesty is preserved by the pose alone, giving the image a refreshingly modern and unfussy look.

Nino Cesarini, a young man famed for his beauty, photographed by Guglielmo Plüschow - possibly the same gloriously sunny day as this better known picture.

This lovely c1900 nude by Wilhelm von Gloeden employs a less clichéd sort of censorship than the usual paper fig leaf favoured by studio photography at the time, allowing a subtle and discreet level of nudity without the stuffy artifice of attaching fake leaves to the model’s person!

An utterly beautiful reference photograph by Belgian sculptor Jacques de Lalaing, some time in the 1880s-90s : quite the most graceful and gloriously poised artists’ model I’ve laid eyes on for a long time!

A second version of the iconic ‘Cain’ photograph by Wilhelm von Gloeden, his Sicilian model adopting the Flandrin pose, circa 1902. The subtlest of differences - look at his hands; the right thumb, the overlap of fingers and rocks - proves this to be a different shot, not merely a variation in the printing from the brighter copy posted herepreviously.

A glorious portrait of a truly timeless masculine beauty, this arguably most lovely of Guglielmo Plüschow’s graceful models. This image seems a close match to my favourite picture of him (indeed, one of my favourites in this entire collection, quite close to perfection!)

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. 

A soft-focus scene from Guglielmo Plüschow, around 1900 - I cannot quite make out what he holds in his hand, but the basket spilling grapes at his side could indicate he poses as Dionysos.

One of Plüschow’s most ravishing male nudes, a young man of great physical beauty throwing himself into his modelling duty wholeheartedly, the taut curve of his back and tilted-up chin suggestive of an almost erotic thrill to be displaying his lovely body so proudly, so unblushing and confident before the camera. The cut branches of almond blossom held aloft, with their shadows falling on the plain white wall, make an already fine photograph all the more pleasing to look upon.

A curious but memorable image by von Gloeden. Though the graceless squatting pose lacks the typical languorous elegance of his Arcadian scenes, it is not an ugly photograph; though the glum face propped on hands gives an impression of resigned boredom, with the intense stare from those big dark eyes it is not a boring photograph. 

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! 

Another striking photograph of The Great Faun, perched on the weatherworn rocks of the hills above Taormina. This model was well-chosen for his part, a broad-chested, sturdy-limbed man of distinctive strong features.
Note the elongated shadow cast by his nipple!

Young man with flowers, dated very precisely to the 9th June 1900, a truly lovely photograph by Wilhelm von Gloeden.
Though the handsome model and his tangled handful of wild flower tendrils are the deserving focus of the piece, do take a moment to look closer and meet von Gloeden’s dear black dog, Nedda - she makes several appearances in his work, affectionately snuggling up to models, or almost vanishing in the dark tones of the foreground.

A simply beautiful curly-haired young man, photographed in the garden by Wilhelm von Gloeden, circa 1890.

vintagehandsomemen:

Tennis with Muybridge(1887)

From pioneering motion-picture-maker Eadweard Muybridge’s historically significant Animal Locomotion study. Specifically the naked guy playing tennis, in zoetrope format.

More pictures.

Ten photographs compiled to recreate the movement, I thought this fascinating post might be appreciated, as you certainly seem to have liked the animatedblacksmiths I posted previously!

A platinum print by F. Holland Day, 1898 - up close the grainy nature of the image obscures all detail, but viewed at a distance the figure becomes clear.

A further example from the 1855 set of reference photographs taken by Jean Louis Marie Eugène Durieu with Eugène Delacroix, depicting this muscular male model in a variety of poses.

An uncommon pose makes for a memorable image by Guglielmo Plüschow; we are occasionally shown a rear view of a lovely plumply curved bum in lovingly photographed detail, but rarely do we see a model seated on the ground, knees tucked, face turned away - it is almost as though he is unaware he is being observed and admired!

A striking and wonderfully well-lit artist’s reference photograph of as-yet-unknown date and provenance : it appears to be authentically old (to my inexpert eye, at least) but I’ve been unable to find out any more about the origin - as always, additional information from more knowledgable readers would be gratefully welcomed!