#20th century
Robe de style attributed to Lanvin, early 1920′s
From the Cleveland History Center on Pinterest
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A Music Party
Abanindranath Tagore
Bengal, India, 1905
Watercolors on paper
A group of people sit and listen to a lady playing a sitar. The setting is that of a Mughal court, with Mughal style architecture in the background and the setting sun visible through the arches.
The artist, Abanindranath Tagore (1871 - 1951) was the pioneer and leading exponent of the Bengal School of Art, which flourished between 1905 and 1920. In his paintings, he sought to counter the influence of Western art as taught in art schools under the British Raj, by modernizing indigenous Moghul and Rajput traditions. His work became so influential that it was eventually accepted and regarded as a national Indian style.
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The first time I have featured a magazine page here in my collection, so perfectly fitting our theme I could not resist! It presents an appreciation of masculine beauty, that ageless and unaltering perfection of strength and grace which is as apparent in classical art as in a photograph taken yesterday - the models may be mortal, the techniques ever changing, but the admiration will never cease.
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A fine photograph taken in Tunisia by Rudolf Lehnert in the early part of the 20th Century. Whilst much of his work concentrates on portraiture or displays a documentary style as he captures scenes of local life, historic architecture, and traditional dress, this particular image stands out as singularly and perhaps deliberately erotic - the long look into one another’s eyes could be taken for something far from innocent and platonic.
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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.
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Unusual for being taken outdoors in an era where the controlled lighting of a studio was still preferred by most seeking their portrait immortalised in print, this presents a refreshing and most charming change from the painted backdrops and shadowy drapes. There is a casual spontaneity to it, in the way they appear indifferent to the photographer, not even looking into the lens.
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Jack, Michael, and an annotation which inevitably adds a smile once you know what was occurring out of shot!
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Two delightfully entangled young chaps from the early 20th Century, everything about this makes me smile!
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Not many of the old photographs I post here come with a contemporary caption built in; this one leaves me with little to add besides that is a very fine quiff, sir!
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Another of F. Holland Day’s dreamily beautiful Orpheus photographs, featuring (the also dreamily beautiful!) Nicola Giancola. At first I thought this a cropped detail of a photograph I had seen and shared before, but the angle changes between exposures.
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Often I’ve expressed a certain fondness for the funishings in Victorian and Edwardian studio portraits, the elegant carving and detailed wickerwork, a quirky eccentricity and old-fashioned appeal - things I’d dearly love to have in my own home.
Not this time.
Posing with what has to be the most singularly vile item of furniture I’ve ever laid eyes upon in a vintage photograph, two smart chaps from the early 20th Century - the fellow on the left has such lovely hair curling over his forehead.
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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!
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Photographer Unknown, Subjects Unknown, Photo Postcard, Gelatin Silver Print C. 1915
They cared about each other.
The anonymity and unknown origin of this picture makes it all the more poignant - once, to these men it meant something, now they’re both gone and only the photograph remains, separated from anyone who might’ve remembered them.
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Youth with Staff Shielding Eyes, by F. Holland Day, 1906. Curiously this picture seems to be found only in this shape, I’d be interested to see the entire photograph but as some other of Day’s work appears to be cut into unusual shapes, it’s possible the original was trimmed and we shall never know what this model’s elbows looked like!
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