Wilhelm von Gloeden and Me
I discovered Wilhelm von Gloeden on the internet while taking a painting class at Greenfield Community College. We painted live models in class and I wanted to explore more models to paint. I was very impressed by his photos. Because of the technology available to him at the time, they were only in black and white. I wanted to paint them and add color to them.
The only lighting available to him at the time was the sun. It created shadows on his subjects that made them very stark. I ended up painting 22 of them between 2003 and 2004.
Besides his photos of young men and boys, he photographed the local area and its people, which brought Tourism to Taormina. This is why Wilhelm von Gloeden is known as the father of the postcard. Many famous people visited him to collect his photographs, such as Oscar Wilde, artist Maxfield Parrish, Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Graham Bell, to name just a few.
von Gloeden created over 7000 photographs, most of which were destroyed when Mussilini came to power before World War 2, and after the Catholic Church considered them to be pornography. Those that were not destroyed were hidden by almost every one who wanted to preserve his work. As an artist, I consider them to be art. I draw and paint nudes all the time.
I hope that you enjoy them and consider purchasing one of them on canvas.
The originals are also available for sale. Please contact me if you're interested.