#vintage photograph

A further photograph by Henri Rupp, from the distinctly recogniseable art studio of French painter Gustave Moreau, This one of the simpler poses, many include boxes and furniture to elevate the sitter to suit the landscape into which his painted counterpart would be placed - earlier posts from the studio can be found here.

A 19th Century painting workshop in the French École des Beaux-Arts, probably that of Jean-Léon Gérôme.

In contrast to the pressed shirts, starched collars and neat waistcoats of the smarter gentleman sitters of the era, this pair have a softly rumpled charm, ordinary chaps in their comfortable work shirts, and one sporting smashing striped dungarees!

Male Nude with Pan Pipes, c1900, by Plüschow - a simpler background than many, and all the more distinctive for that, as our attention is concentrated on the fantastically photogenic form of this beautiful broad-shouldered young man, with that charmingly eccentric mess of ruffled black hair over his forehead.

A touching tenderness between sitters in this 19th Century photograph, with their clasped hands pushed forth and arms curled fondly around one another, it almost appears they are about to dance. The long boots are interesting, with the rest of their practical attire they are clearly working class chaps, not the gentry we see more often immortalised in early studio photographs when such things were rather more uncommon and expensive.

A pair of impeccably turned out gentlemen in their contrasting light and dark outfits make for a striking studio photograph, taken in Winona, Minnesota. Unusually, they do not look to the camera, but directly into one another’s eyes, giving us a powerful impression of the affection between them - and in addition, there’s a feeling that the photograph was not intended for anyone but themselves.

My apologies for how very long it may sometimes take me to use a submitted photograph, i had quite overlooked this lovely donation from a user by the name of Squareshots - I beg your pardon, dear fellow, and did not mean to neglect it for such an intolerable time!

A young Eugen Sandow, photographed here in the late 1880s, after leaving Prussia to embark on his early career as a circus strongman. As befitting someone whose body would become his business, he reveals almost all to show those superbly defined flexed muscles for the admiration of his audience.

singinglikeapuncture:

F. Holland Day,Saint Sebastian, 1906, platinum print

Saint Sebastian has taken on such iconic status in our era, it is fascinating to look back to what must surely be one of his first photographic depictions. An exquisitely beautiful young model, the expected saintly acceptance of his fate leaving his fine features unsullied by obvious pain or distress, indeed the upper half of the picture could be mistaken for glorious gorgeous erotica if we were not aware of the binding ropes and arrow wounds below.

Two beautifully bearded gentlemen in magnificent hats (white so rarely seen in these pictures, I believe this may be my first?), and while it is a crying shame to draw your attention away from such very handsome faces, do note the pockets apparently on the wrong side of their coats - this was printed as a mirror image of the original scene.

With softly faded edges adding an atmospheric hazy quality, and a bright overhead light which draws deep shadows on their anatomy, this is a lovely photograph despite only being taken for artistic reference. I recognised these two men (and the fully articulated cat skeleton propped in the background!) as familiar from this photograph posted a year previously.

One a soldier and one a civilian in this picture sent in by our frequent contributor, Alan, who submitted the cropped copy included above - in my attempt to discover the origin (unknown) and date (1902), I have found the larger unaltered original, and as you will know if you’ve followed the progress of this collection for some time, I am awfully enamoured of edges and inordinately fond of frames, and could not resist the completeness of the full picture. However I must admit the modern tampering performed has done wonders for the brightness and clarity, therefore you have the pleasure of seeing it twice today!

Though small this is a quite quite marvellous little mounted photograph, their sweetly frivolous pose of resting elbows and some splendid outfits indeed (I’m particularly partial to a nice check coat), and I do believe I detect a touch of pink blush on the left-hand fellow’s cheek!

mrsramseysshawl:

Maui fisherman taken at Paia Beach c.1912

A wonderful image here - though staged it is not the idle idyllic peace of the Arcadian nudes lounging lazy in the sun, but a working man, captured on film as he performs a task which he has done many a time before. There is a certain appeal to the reality of this photograph compared to others, to finding such beauty in the genuine everyday skill with which he makes his living.

A highly amusing and rather odd portrait here - the highly affectionate, intimately entwined pair in the foreground could almost be unaware of the fellow behind, stripped (to the waist?) and showing off his muscles. What made him decide to forgo the simple standard of sitting beside his friends? Regrettably we will never know, but it is a photograph well worth pondering!

A sixth shot from Henri Rupp, in the studio of Gustav Moreau - this the more slender of two models who can be seen in the same setting. I believe I still have a couple more to share, though I admit keeping track of what I have not yet added becomes increasingly difficult as I often discover these faster than I am sharing them.

What a pity these sitters did not decide to annotate their photographs, how nice it would be to know their names!

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.

San Francisco Yacht Harbor - December 1953.