Wilhelm von Gloeden

Wilhelm von Gloeden was a German ex-pat who moved to Italy in the late 19th Century and took up nude photography of young men.  His work and his reputed sexual exploits with locals got him into trouble with the law, and he had to make a hasty return to Germany.  Meanwhile, he had taken a great number of photos, five of which I will feature today.  We start with an impressive model who was rather older than von Gloeden's typical subjects.

The liberal use of a wide variety or props was a hallmark of von Gloeden's work.  Often these were Classical Roman in nature, but not always.  This photo is relatively uncluttered compared to some.

Von Gloeden was known for photographing (and bedding) youths, 

but this somewhat older model is quite fetching.

This sword wielding von Gloeden model's eyes are on the wild side,

but he makes an impressive photo.

Von Gloeden used the Italian seaside landscape in a lot of his photos, 

and it seems particularly effective with this model.

Ed Fury Day, Part 2 - Semi-nudes

Ed Fury managed as a model to accomplish the "less can be more" paradigm of sexiness without full on nudity.  Our semi-nude shots of Ed start with this one which I think is by Bob Mizer of AMG.

I don't always like the early 50's oiled look, but it works here.

I wish the photo quality were better on this Bruce of LA photo of Ed in chains.

If anyone has a better copy, send it to me and I will replace this one and credit you.

This color photo of Ed Fury was used on the cover of Muscle Power magazine in the early 1950's.

In a future series on this amazing model, I will post some more of his numerous cover shots.

It's very politically incorrect these days, but I think most of you 

will agree that Ed Fury looks quite sexy on that bearskin rug.

Ed Fury Day, Part 1 - Nudes

Ed Fury (born 1928 as Rupert Edmund Holovchik) had a moderately successful career as a Hollywood actor.  Best known for his roles in "sword and sandal" Italian films, he made it into the movies after hitting the Muscle Beach scene in LA in the late 1940's.  Somewhere in there he posed, both nude and semi-nude, for Bob Mizer of AMG and Bruce of LA, and I will be featuring some of that work on the blog today in a double feature.  After the Steve Reeves type movie craze faded, Ed continued to work in small parts in both film and TV into the 1990's.  I'm happy to report that Ed is still living in LA at age 91.  He attributes his longevity to exercise and a vegetarian diet. We start with a photo which I believe was made by Bruce of LA.

Am I the only one who sees traces of a posing strap in this nice derriere photo of Ed Fury by AMG?

Did Bob Mizer airbrush it out?  Or maybe he took it off and the lines remained.
Edited to add:  This is not Ed Fury, but Richard Dubois.  See comment by James IV for details.

Ed Fury posed in some documented beach locale photos by Bruce of LA, but this one doesn't match the others in my collection, so I'm going with "unattributed."

I don't have a photographer attribution for this Ed Fury picture, but whoever it was had a flair for setting up a pose that shows both a fine derriere and some great leg and thigh muscles.

This interesting photo of Ed Fury with a fish net around his waist is by Bruce of LA.

Thomas Eakins Panel Sets

The great American artist, photographer, and social pioneer Thomas Eakins used photography as an aid to teaching painting as a money saving alternative to paid models.  Using mostly his students and himself as subject material, he produced photographic panel sets of men in a variety of poses.

We begin today's series with this impressive bearded  young student.

Eakins used at least two African-American models, and there's no record that they were students as most of his models were.  I suppose he might have hired them, but Eakins loved to push the limits of social acceptability, so who knows?  They might have been proteges or friends.

Here we have Eakins himself in a panel set that demonstrates yet again his willingness 

to pose nude himself, usually with students doing the photography.  

Click or expand for larger version.

I think there are at least two different models in this set, and I used it mostly because of the look on the young man's face at left. He seems quite fearless and confident about posing nude.  

I'm sure I would have liked him.

The scan on this Eakins panel set leaves something to be desired, 

but we can still appreciate the model.

Italian Day, Part 2 - the Sculptures of Stadio dei Marmi

Mussolini built so many fascist themed monuments and buildings that the Allies gave up on tearing them down after World War II and only insisted that the most blatantly political examples be destroyed.  As a result, a couple of dozen statues of nude athletes remain at the Stadio dei Marmi complex on the outskirts of Rome.  Five of them will be our art for this Friday.

This boxer resembles a lot of the work done by favored Nazi sculptors such as Arno Brecker.

One would think that with all the photographers who've shown up at Stadio dei Marmi over the decades, more of them would have photographed the statues from the rear.  

But no, this is the best I could do for the Bum Brigade.

Pistoia is a city in Tuscany, but I can't figure out what the connection to the statue is.

The gesture this fascist athlete is making could be interpreted a number of ways.

Italian Day, Part 1 - Nude Physique Models

I'm doing an Italian theme for today with five models of Italian descent by five different photographers, starting with Tony Sabatino by Pat Milo.

Tony Spragio posed for this impressive Russ Warner photo.

This photo involved three Italians . . . the brothers Freddie and Ronnie DiFalco as models

and photographer Frank Giardina.

John Barrington of London took this photo of Giancarlo Zampetti.

Bill Franchi posed for this photo by Jean Ferrero, who was also of Italian descent.

Korean War

Fellow Hawaii resident Larry has been very generous in sharing his collection of photos from the LIFE Archive.  Today I am featuring some of Larry's images from the Korean War, starting with this young GI washing up by a jeep while another paddles around on an air mattress in the background.

This is the first of three photos today taken by Michael Rougier in May, 1951.

Carly Mydans photographed these American soldiers showering in Korea in August, 1950.

All sorts of activity in this Michael Rougier photo from 1951.

Our Bum Brigade special features four GIs in the shower as captured by 

John Dominis in a February, 1951 piece called "The Han River Fight."

In this Michael Rougier photo from May, 1951, one GI
watches while another wrestles with an air mattress.

Part 2 of Bob Mucci Day features posing strap and 

semi-nudes, just about all of which are by Bruce of LA.

I didn't realize until I set up this post that the Dave Martin photo I chose 

was actually a peekaboo nude, but I'm using it anyway.

The bulk of my Bob Mucci collection is from the corrugated metal set

 that Bruce of LA used, and this color image stands out.

I don't know if this was a poor scan or if Bruce of LA didn't manage his usual quality.

I have the feeling that Bruce of LA did both nude and posing strap photos in the same session.

Bob Mucci Day, Part 1 - Nudes

I recently posted a photo of Bob Mucci, aka Brad Payne, as part of a low hangers series.  I had a number of requests for more images of this excellent model, so I'm making it Bob Mucci Day today.

Bob modeled for Dave Martin, Denny Denfield, and Bruce of LA, who took this photo.

Another Bruce of LA photo of Mucci using a corrugated metal backdrop.

Apparently Bob Mucci was a pseudonym for Brad Payne, described on this Dave Martin 

notation as a weightlifting instructor, wrestler, and gym owner.

This color image of Mr. Mucci is by Denny Denfield.

Although I don't have documentation, I think this photo of Bob Muccci is by Dave Martin.

Middle Aged Nudists

I could have used this guy in yesterday's "big ones" extravaganza, 

but he is a nudist after all.

I think that's a '59 Olds Ninety-Eight he's leaning against.

Here's one for you long denied chubby chasers, 

and he's even being fed a sandwich.  How appropriate.

I think this guy was an archery instructor at a nudist camp.

For some reason I can't explain, this is a personal favorite.