#von gloeden

Kindly donated by John, who has sent many fine photographs to this collection in the past, this a rather lovely solo portrait by Wilhelm von Gloeden, the model’s name not known.

The lovely Asrah, blessed with an enchanting face full of character and gentle humour, and a timeless masculine beauty - those deep soulful eyes! Pictured here just before the turn of the last century, when he would’ve been twenty three, twenty four - one of the last photographs von Gloeden ever took of this fine young man.

First published in The National Geographic magazine in December 1909, accompanying an article on Mount Etna, this portrait by Wilhelm von Gloeden is surely one of his most striking models, a true masculine beauty. Such dazzling light-coloured eyes, the intensity of his direct stare quite hypnotic! I wonder, were they grey, or green, or blue?

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. 

A 1905 postcard by Wilhelm von Gloeden, beautiful in its tones of hazy blue, and the oh-so-handsome model bedecked with a wreath of laurel leaves. The image is, in fact, cropped from a larger photograph, one of a set taken some time between 1895 and 1898 at Monte Ziretto, Taormina. The full scene, with a second young man almost entirely trimmed out of this postcard version, can be seen here.

Another of von Gloeden’s glorious artistic nudes, here draped in a thick garland of tangled white-flowered bindweed. 

A pity this picture by von Gloeden is so small, I’ve tried to find a larger copy but this will have to suffice.

“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.

How I wish more of von Gloeden’s photographs included the name of the model, just knowing he was called Pietro makes him come alive and feel a very real person - captured for all time, handful of hanging roses and posed poised on the step, one moment in a life we know nothing else of. 1904, Italy.

Utterly charming but with a hint of the bizarre, one model wearing an extraordinary translucent and faintly striped dress which reveals as much as it hides. 

No.1428 in Wilhelm von Gloeden’s catalogue of beautiful pictures.

An extremely muscular model strikes a powerful pose for Wilhelm von Gloeden in one of his later pictures from the early years of the 20th century - we have seen this man before in the magnificent and memorable snake-charmer photograph.

A handsome Sicilian model who has featured in this collection before, this time his good looks captured in glorious close-up. Wilhelm von Gloeden, circa 1900.

A captivating solo portrait by Wilhelm von Gloeden, depicting one of the strapping young men of Taormina, Sicily - likely to have been one of the many fisherman he invited to model for his photography in this quiet coastal town, which would become something of a tourist destination once its delights had been revealed to the wider world. 

Another of von Gloeden’s striking solo portraits, taken toward the end of the 19th Century in Taormina. The comely young man who poses in such a wistful way is Pietro, who has featured here before.

Arguably the most famous of Wilhelm von Gloeden’s photoshoots, the set depicting The Great Faun - with his hair teased into a pair of sharp points for horns, this handsome model appears to have enjoyed himself immensely as he poses in a wide variety of attitudes and locations. I’d somehow neglected to include any of this series til now, a sad and entirely accidental oversight I will rectify without further ado!

One of Wilhelm von Gloeden’s most beautiful male models, Pasqualino (Pascquale Stracuzzi), reclining in sinuous, curvaceous grace, as he gently cradles a small black dog : von Gloeden’s own, her name is Nedda and she appears most at home in his tender arms. A kind donation from previous contributor John, scanned from his own collection - I thank you wholeheartledly, sir, you have very fine taste indeed!

Three handsome young men pose for Wilhelm von Gloeden in the late 19th Century, their expressions transforming this into something uniquely beautiful, and open to interpretation - innocent platonic affection, or lustful longing? The boy on the left certainly seems to lean toward the latter.

A gorgeous, glorious photograph credited to von Gloeden, a fine young man stretched out languidly to bask in the sun, so seductive and so evocative, you can almost feel the heat on skin and hear the hum of summer insects as he lounges there, so long ago but still so beautiful before our eyes. Look closely, for the mole right by his nipple - they should not only be called beauty marks when they show upon the face.

This splendid von Gloeden photograph of three lovely Sicilians was a submission from reader Steven’s own art collection, along with the tale of its acquisition and a view of the signature and numbering on the reverse. I am certain you shall all appreciate his generosity as much as I, for it is a fine example of this glorious evocative style.

My immediate thought on seeing this von Gloeden photograph, ‘was there not a dog?’ proved right - on investigation I’ve found that there are two very similar pictures : the first here shows a black labrador-type draped sleepily over the rocks, by this second shot he has got up and gone. It is more than editing, as the right-hand model’s head has slightly turned.