Short Biography of Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden, September 16, 1856 - February 16, 1931
VtNM Administration
Hohenzollerns, was born in Schloss Volkshagen, near
Wiemar, in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg, a city on
the Baltic sea in what is now Germany. His father,
Baron Erminio von Glœden, had married the widow of
Herr von Raab and had died shortly after his birth.
His mother re-married with Wilhelm Joachim von
Hammerstein who was a well-known, and well-to-do,
journalist. His stepfather, also a Baron, was also a
counselor and friend to Kaiser Wilhelm. Wilhelm von
Glœden was thus raised a nobleman, affluent and
classically educated in the highest circles of the
Prussian elite. But Wilhelm had no interest in
politics.
Instead, he gave himself over to art and aesthetics.
The study of ancient civilizations was then more
popular than at any time since the Renaissance, and
Wilhelm became a student of antiquity. After briefly
studying art history (1876 - 1877), he turned to the
study of painterly composition under Professor C.
Gehrts in Weimar, an education he was forced to break
off prematurely once diagnosed as suffering from
tubercolosis.
Wilhelm claimed to have been an illegitimate child in
the family line of the Kaiser, because of which he was
persuaded to become an exile from his native land, and
for which exile he received a regular stipend from
Berlin - on condition that he never return.
In reality, suffering from tuberculosis, at the time
one of Europe's great scourges, von Glœden was advised
to seek a warmer, drier climate. While recuperating at
a Baltic sanatorium, von Glœden became acquainted with
Otto Geleng, a man involved in developing the tourist
trade of Taormina, Sicily. Geleng persuaded von Glœden
to take up residence there in order to fully
convalesce from his illness. Wilhelm von Glœden's
step-father provided him the means to live in some
splendour in Sicily.
He settled in Taormina, a hillside town on the
northeast coast of Sicily which at the close of the
nineteenth century was a small, impoverished Sicial
town unknown to tourists, to regain his physical and
mental health (the psychological distress he
experienced as a gay man unable to indulge his erotic
fantasies). Although von Glœden originally travelled
to Italy for reasons of health, he found there his
"paradise on earth", as he himself put it.
In 1876, after arriving in Taormina, which at the
close of the nineteenth century was a small,
impoverished Sicilian town unknown to tourists, not
only did health and psyche improve, but von Glœden was
able to embark upon his artistic career. From Taormina
he traveled often throughout Italy and in Naples would
visit his cousin, Wilhelm von Plüschow, a commercial
photographer who taught von Glœden photographic
techniques and inspired von Glœden to dedicate himself
to the craft of his newly discovered photographic
hobby.
On the day Wilhelm arrived in Taormina, the song of a
burro driver - a handsome youth of sixteen or
seventeen - was assigned to him to act as a guide.
Wilhelm kept the boy with him the whole day, and, as
fate would have it, for most of the night. Stretched
out together on the uppermost tier of the ancient
Greek theater, they talked and laughed and watched the
brilliant Mediterranean stars above. Later, they lay
together in the warm meadows of Monte Ziretto with the
sound of summer cicadas singing in the cool of
pre-dawn. This was the start of what Wilhelm called
his long starry-nighted ecstasy, a delirium of carnal
and spiritual rapture.
Taormina sits high above the sea. Originally a Greek
outpost, then a Roman possession, Taormina hangs
between the sky and the transparent blue Mediterranean
with breathtaking panoramas of the rugged coastline.
Snow-capped influences of the previous civilizations -
the Greek amphitheater and columned temples, the Roman
aqueducts still providing water - are everywhere.
Above all, there are the people themselves, with their
beautiful mixture of Greek, Roman, and Arabic
features.
Being a Bohemian at heart, Wilhelm took up quarters in
a modest villa with a lovely secluded garden-terrace
where he would feed his birds and photograph his
models. This terrace often appears in his photos,
sometimes with a spring of a fennel tree propped in
one corner (or in a Greek urn) for its picturesque
effect, often with an animal skin draped over the
bench upon which would be seated an artistic nude.
Though ill, Von Glœden retained his immense charm,
which attracted to him ordinary people, as well as
those closer to his rank and background. Everyone
agreed that his company was a pleasure, and he soon
was called to happily by the townspeople as Guglielmo,
the Italian equivalent of William. He made no attempt
to conceal from the citizens of Taormina what he was -
a practicing homosexual in a time of strong social
intolerance. He believed that human sexuality was to
be enjoyed, and made this belief manifest in the way
he lived his life.
His life harmed no one. People were never coerced into
doing anything that they did not wish to do, and Von
Glœden never prescribed sexual conduct for anyone. It
is said that whenever a new model appeared uneasy at
being photographed, the Baron would strip off his own
clothes, don the leopard-skin, and together they would
gambol about like young animal pups until the model
lost his shyness.
During 1877 - 1878, von Glœden undertook his first
photographic attempts, receiving instruction from
local photographers. While on an excursion he visited
Naples, where he established contact with photographer
Wilhelm von Plüschow, a distant relative. Von Plüschow
encouraged von Glœden in his ambition to become a
serious photographer. Both men shared an interest in
nude studies: both envisioned an antique revival via
photographic composition. Von Glœden's travels took
him, among other places, to North Africa.
Although rumors circulated that other boys in Taormina
of whom he took nude photographs also became Gleden's
bedfellows, he remained a respectable resident of the
small town. The townspeople chose to ignore Wilhelm's
midnight orgies, even though they involved their own
sons. They loved him as a kind, reliable friend - a
giver of employment when money was sorely needed, and
one who touched their ordinary lived with the class of
rank and intimate graciousness. When a local family
had a setback, Wilhelm would often invent some work to
be done in order to justify a gift of aid, which would
not be otherwise accepted by the proud people.
The Baron in 1878 engaged the services of a
fourteen-year-old boy, the handsome Pancrazio Bucini
(c. 1864 - c. 1951). A darkskinned lad with large
eyes, Wilhelm gave Pancrazio the nickname "Il Moro"
(The Moor) because of the Arabic strains in his blood.
Il Moro, after being one of his first models, became
his assistant.
Wilhelm's affection for il Moro grew rapidly and was
returned. The youth tended to Wilhelm's illness:
administering medications, bargaining with the
townspeople for special restorative foods, preparing
the warm salt water baths prescribed by the doctors,
and arranging for many local youths to participate in
the midnight revels that Wilhelm offered his house
guests. Il Moro was not just a servant but a
much-loved friend, lover, and ally. He would stay on
as Wilhelm's personal assistant for the rest of
Wilhelm's life, and became the heir of his
photographic legacy. Von Glœden and Bucini were, in a
sense, monogamous lovers, for il Moro was still with
the Baron when the latter died in 1931. Wilhelm
followed his own private cure which consisted of
taking a bath every morning in fresh water mixed with
sea water which men had to carry up the mountain for
him. He could well afford this because his stepfather
was a very rich and powerful man.
As of 1883 his images began to appear in such
important exhibitions as the annual exhibition of the
Royal Photographic Society, and that of the London
association for artistic photography, "The Linked
Ring". From 1895 von Glœden was deprived of his
financial inependence when von Hammerstein, his
stepfather, lost his fortune. Grand Duke Friedrich III
of Mecklenburg-Schwerin came to von Glœden's
assistance, presenting him with a large format plate
camera.
This encouragement helped von Glœden climb from
amateur ranks to establish his career as a
professional artist photographer. The period from 1890
to the outbreak of the Great War was the most fruitful
of von Glœden's career, accounting for the major
portrion of his glass negatives. From 1895, Taormina
had become a favourite destination of affluent
society.
He secretly provided dowries for daughters of poor
families whose potential husbands were young men of
whom Wilhelm was fond. He would later establish a
system of accounts which provided, "royalties," to the
boys who posed for his cameras. The money allowed many
young men to start businesses or purchase boats with
which to earn a living, or seek an education in the
city. Many Taorminese families owe their present level
of prosperity to a grandfather or great uncle who
modeled for Von Glœden.
In 1889, von Glœden's stepfather, the Baron, had
angered the Kaiser by printing an account of a secret
meeting with foreign officials. The state confiscated
the Baron's estate and all his possessions, and would
have locked him in prison for life had he not been
able narrowly to escape capture. He fled to Greece,
unable to join Wilhelm in Sicily, since the Kaiser had
agents who would seek him out and havve him killed.
Wilhelm now found himself with no source of income,
his regular remittance cut off by the Kaiser.
Wilhelm considered jouneying to Germany to plead his
case, but decided - wisely - that this would be too
risky of a venture. He had no choice but to let go of
his staff of servants, even Il Moro. But the youth
refused to leave. Saying that he had been with Wilhelm
in riches, he would now stay with him in poverty.
Von Glœden now had the revelatory experience of
learning about the true nature of love and friendship.
The wealthy friends who had numerous times accepted
and enjoyed Wilhelm's hospitalit simply vanished. But
when things were at their worst, when there was no
food for them - there would appear a couple of
freshly-caught fish, a loaf of home-made bread, a
basketful of eggs or vegetables. These were homages
from the ordinary peoples of Taormina, who did not
forget the generosity and kindness of "Il Barone."
When the political fortunes of his step-father
changed, Wilhelm found himself in near-poverty. His
sister had come to live with him and with the cut-off
of his stipend, the servants were laid off and a
lavish lifestyle came crashing to an end. But il Moro,
who had first joined the household as a houseboy,
remained on, and did odd jobs provided by the
townspeople, off the estate, to pay for the needs of
his mentor and lover just as Wilhelm had done for
them.
His family allowance interrupted, it was time to turn
art into business and, on the basis of his fame,
Wilhelm was able to begin selling postcards of his
photographs, as well as individual prints, to the
tourists who continued to arrive.
von Glœden's interest in photography and the
propitious of a view camera led him to a career in
photography. He began by selling postcards picturing
the landscapes and monuments of Sicily as well as
portraits of its people. But Wilhelm was not content
to photograph the natural scenery. He wanted to
capture and share his own private view of heaven with
his cultured friends (and fellow homosexuals) around
the world. With a clearly defined aesthetic and a sure
sense of his own artistry, Von Glœden abandoned scenic
postcard photography to become the foremost proponent
of a kind of purely pictoral photography which, for
its day, was revolutionary.
He began photographing the male nude in the early
1890's. Initially he collaborated with his cousin, von
Plüschow often sharing models and props, thus making
attribution difficult when researching their early
careers.
Wilhelm had a natural painter's eye and had studied
art history, and then the craft of painting. It wasn't
long before the painter became photographer -- in the
early 1880s something exotic and looked down upon as
an artistic medium. However the painter made this
medium his own and, at first, made memorable -- and
saleable -- pictures of the surrounding countryside,
including the famous Mount Etna which appears in a
number of his later pictures.
But all this was really nothing more than the
expressions of a dilettante who, though art was his
hobby, turned his social life into an art. The
parties, and the generosity Wilhelm was able to spread
to the locals, not least of which included the lithe,
adolescent peasant boys, quite literally spread the
name "Taormina" far and wide. Single-handedly, von
Gloeden turned a sleepy paradise into a thriving
tourist destination, in particular for homosexual men.
It wasn't long before Wilhelm was again thriving and
living a lavish existence.
After he lost his allowance, Glœden turned photography
into a profession. Many of Glœden's pictures focuses
on typical Sicilian peasant scenes - young girls and
old men, fishermen, water-carriers and priests,
country roads and town squares.
These were turned into postcards and achieved
widespread popularity for their engagingly sentimental
and charmingly "typical" views of Mediterranean life.
Glœden also took hundreds, if not thousands, of
photographs of Sicilian boys, often in states of
partial or complete undress.
He posed his ephebes against Arcadian backgrounds or
antique ruins, sometimes clothing them in mock togas
or laurel crowns or using such props as small
classical staues. His models were robust though poor
boys whom Glœden envisioned as the inheritors of
classical beauty. None of the photographs portray
sexual activities, yet the homoerotic message is
strong.
Partly because of Glœden's fame, Taormina became a
great tourist resort, attracting such homosexuals as
Wilde and Krupp, and a number of other celebrities.
Glœden lived a comfortable life, surrounded by the
proteges whom he photographied. He established bank
accounts for a number of his models, and set other up
in business.
It's remarkable that in the Victorian Age von
Gloeden's fame spread so rapidly. His images first
appeared in magazines and soon galleries throughout
Europe began to feature his works. At the close of the
nineteenth century, von Glœden's work found swift
recognition within the world of photography, his
images appearing at important international
exhibitions. During 1893 his photographs were
published in such trend-setting periodicals as "The
Studio" and Velhagen & Klasing's "Kunst für Alle" (Art
for everyone).
By 1893, the artist's fame had won him awards in
Europe, not only for his work as landscape
photographer, but for his stagings of classical
settings and even for his growing interest in nude
photography which was almost exclusively focused on
adolescent males. A cousin, Wilhelm (Guglielmo)
Plüschow, as it turns out, was also in Italy, also
working as a photographer and soon the two Wilhelms
were co-producing nude male pictures.
During the 1890s, none other than Kaiser Wilhelm
himself was wont to voyage to Sicily, where he would
anchor the Imperial Yacht in the picturesque bay or
Taormina, perforce to sleep with one or the other of
the Baron's boys. Von Glœden's nudes were avidly
collected. Their suggestion of ancient places, use of
artifacts and classic compositions helped to divert or
at least excuse their sexual impact. In 1898 von
Glœden became a corresponding member of Berlin's
"Freie Photographische Vereinigung" (Free Fotographic
Society).
The "Baron of Taormina" cultivated friendships with
prominent and popular personalities of the fin de
siècle. Mr and Mrs Alexander Graham Bell visited von
Glœden in 1898, and came away the proud possessors of
several of his photos of native Sicilians, which they
graciously presented to the National Geographic
Society for its magazine (which thence contained two
or three shots of semi-clad boys, up through recent
times), and were published in the October 1916
edition, in an article entitled Italy - The Gifted
Mother of Civilization.
By 1900, Wilhelm's Taormina estate had been visited by
a number of world celebrities, not least of which were
Oscar Wilde, who dropped by for a chat (and a look)
upon his release from prison, and humbly presented the
master with a signed copy of The Ballad of Reading
Gaol. By now the stream of house guests had become
almost overwhelming.
Hundreds of famous people signed Wilhelm's guest book,
including Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, King
Alphonse of Spain, the stern Kaiser of Germany,
Wilhelm II (the same monarch who had persecuted the
unfortunate Baron von Hammertein) and the gentle King
of Siam Paramandra Maha Chulalongkorn. King Edward VII
of England (who carried Von Glœden's nude photos back
to the U.K. in his diplomatic pouch) stayed at the von
Gloeden estate.
André Gide came to stay for a while penning his
famous The Immoralist inspired by his stay at resort
town Also the well-known bankers and industrialists as
Rothschild, Stönnes, Morgan, and Vanderbilt were
amongst his guests, as were composer Richard Strauss,
the King of Siam, celebrated French author Anatole
France. Other of the Baron's renowned guests are said
to include Rudyard Kipling, Gabriele d'Annunzio,
Eleanora Duse, and Guglielmo Marconi.
German industrialist and munitions manufacturer
Frederich Alfred Krupp, was a frequent visitor and he
purchased large quantities of Von Glœden's works, but
was soon the subject of a vicious scandal back in
Germany. The scandal threatened to topple the House of
Krupp, taking his entire industrial empire with it.
Krupp did what was the required thing for his time and
situation: he put a bullet through his brain.
Fortunately, while a homosexual scandal hit his cousin
Plüschow, forcing him to return to Germany, von Glœden
was adored by, and ultimately protected by, the
locals. Von Glœden was fortunate to remain socially
accepted, artistically respected, and sexually active
for the remaining years of his life. And nothing
stopped the prolific photographer from creating, and
distributing, image after image of male models,
scantily clad and, more often unclad - except for
props such as sashes, flowers, leaves weaved into the
hair, ancient columns, urns, and other paraphernalia
evoking antiquity.
Von Glœden's photographs (about 80 percent of which
were of lightly-clad or unclad boylimbs) were
circulated not merely among the extensive coterie of
the "Uranian School" of homosexual poets, but in many
of the "physique and health" magazines spawned by the
German Korperkulture (physical
health/naturalism/nudism) and Wandervogel (boy
scouts/hiking) movements. His more carefully draped
studies were regularly reprinted in hundreds of travel
magazines and brochures advertising the joys of a
Mediterranean holiday, and was even noted in Baedeker.
The British concept of what constitutes "the romantic
Mediterranean" was invented by von Glœden.
By the turn of the century, poets and actors, painters
and famous society figures flocked to Taormina, making
it a must on their grand Italian tours. After touring
the city's charming Ancient Greek theatre, the
travellers would pay a visit to von Glœden at his
studio, purchasing his pagan Illustrations of
Theocritus and Homer - as von Glœden called his
photographs - images which were mounted in travel
albums alongside the architectural studies of Fratelli
Alinari of Florence, and the Neapolitan folk portraits
of Giorgio Sommer, a Frankfurt-born photographer
living and working in Naples.
Even the explicit nude photos were accepted and often
cherished by the ordinary townspeople of Taormina
whose songs and brothers were their subjects. Likewise
Von Glœden's wealthy and educated friends could not
keep secret the beauty of his Greek vision. They
spread the word and Von Glœden found himself becoming
famous and wealthy once again from his work, for which
he initially had no desire nor hope of profit.
Von Glœden's photo labroratory became busier and
busier. Many of the world's famous photographers were
attracted to him - requesting to learn new techniques.
Around this time, Von Glœden developed an emulsion of
milk, olive oil, glycerin, and scent which he used on
the models to give their skin a soft, even glow. He
pioneered the field of filters and of transparent
colors burshed directly onto the photographs which
subtly altered the tonalities and intensities of the
finished print. Many more assistants (who doubled as
models) were hired and were supervised by Il Moro,
Wilhelm's co-worker and companion.
In 1911 von Glœden was awarded a medal in recognition
of his valuable assistance in helping Taormina become
a favourite tourist destination.
1914 saw the outburst of World War I, and in 1915
Italy joined the Allies in the war against Prussia,
and so Von Gloden and his sister Sofia were classified
as enemy aliens. Their options were to remain in Italy
in a detention camp or return to Germany for the
duration of the war. Wilhelm, already in his late
fifties, would have preferred to stay in Italy but
could not bear the thought of his sister in the harsh
environment of a camp. As German citizens, von Glœden
and his sister were thus forced to leave Taormina.
Wilhelm von Glœden did not live in Taormina from
1915-18; his place of residence in Germany during the
war is unknown.
Happily von Glœden had a fantastic "right hand man"
who helped him for the choice of all his models. This
was his studio assistant, Pancrazio Bucini, "il Moro".
Therefore the home and studio were left in the care of
his model, lover and friend il Moro until his return
in 1918. Il Moro, for his part, was always up to any
task required of him, even in the most complicated of
circumstances.
Il Moro was conscripted into the Italian Army. It was
by sheer good fortune that he, who was at the oldest
end of the conscription range, was sent not to fight
but was posted on the slopes of his home town,
Taormina, with a coastal artillery unit. He was able
to keep an eye on the villa, maintain the photo
studio, and even see to it that the many pets were fed
by the local boys too young to be sent off to war.
Wilhelm and Il Moro were able to communicate, although
dangerously, with the aid of a Swiss friend who was
forced to return home. Since letters to an enemy state
were not allowed, Wilhelm mailed letters to
Switzerland, a neutral country. These letters were
then re-addressed and mailed to Il Moro.
The system worked well for most of the war, and news
of mutual friends, expressions of affection, and
Wilhelm's longing and homesickness passed back and
forth. The letters were devoid of any political or
military information, but when some were opened in a
routine postal check, officials were alarmed. Il Moro
wrote about his house and the animals and the letters
were full of strange details about the conduct of "the
crow", of "the dove" and of "the may-bug", all the
models were referred to only by first names... thus,
as one can well imagine, embroidered on it: naturally
it was a case of an espionage network.
They arrested Il Moro on charges of treason, with the
firing squad a real possibility. The young man was
imprisioned for three months and was subjected to
brutal interrogations, during which time the wretched
fellow was continually threatened with shooting if he
did not reveal the true identity of these "cover
names", faced court-martial as a spy, charged with
consorting with the enemy. But a silver-tongue - which
would come in handy years later - convinced his
superiors that Bucini was a loyal Sicilian.
Wilhelm was uncertain of his fate the whole time. Il
Moro steadfastly maintained his innocence, and
eventually proved it to the satisfaction of the
miltary officials. He was eventually formally
exonerated of all charges, returned to duty with his
artillery company and, amazingly, was allowed to
resume his correspondence with Wilhelm. After a
three-month gap, the correspondence between the
lifelong partners resumed till the end of the war. Von
Glœden and Sofia returned to Taormina after the Peace
Treaty of 1919 without delay.
Il Moro and everything ready - flowers, fruit and wine
on the tables, and the studio ready for work. Through
tears of joy, Wilhelm saw the faces of the boys he
loved. But he also saw that some were missing. Later
that first day, Wilhelm retired alone to the locked
studio to pore over his many photographs of the youths
he would never see again. Throughout the night, some
residents of the village reported hearing erratic sobs
coming from the locked studio. Wilhelm later told and
English friend that the joy and pain he experienced on
that first day of his return had been almost beyond
bearing.
The years after the war were prosperous and
comfortable. The fame of this Baron from Taormina
continued to attract admirers from all over the world.
The villa and the studio were constantly active -
Sofia was at Wilhelm's one side, and Il Moro was at
his other. The secret nighttime revels were revived.
Although political upheaval was in the air again, the
news reports seldom affected Taormina. Mussolini rose
to power in 1926, but fortunately the changing
political situation never interfered with Wilhelm's
final years. During 1929 a fateful alliance between
the Vatican and Italy's fascist government was formed.
Von Glœden never realized this "alliance" would later
be responsible for the destruction and suppression of
what remained of his life's work.
Then in his seventies, Wilhelm was beginning to slow
down. He continued to photograph until 1930, the year
before his death. Sofia died just three months before
Wilhelm. They were buried side by side in the local
protestant cemetery, surrounded by the land they
loved. Pancrazio Bucini (Il Moro) was named as
Wilhelm's inheritor. He received all the personal
possessions and some 3,000 negative glass plates,
representing more than a quarter century of work. Il
Moro had no thought of exploiting the potential
financial treasure. People still sought out photos,
but for Il Moro, they were a personal rememberance,
and he guarded their safety fiercely. They remained in
trunks, chests, and cabinets of his humble lodgings -
unreproduced. They were a tangible link between
Wilhelm and his own life.
Bucini, who had married and had children, inherited
the estate and the vast picture collection and the
surviving masters. During 1929 a fateful alliance
between the Vatican and Italy's fascist government had
been formed. In 1933 some 1000 glass negatives and
2000 prints were confiscated and destroyed by Italian
Fascist police.
In 1936, Mussolini's fascist government, with the aid
of the Catholic church, began a vice campaign. When
the Fascists entered Taormina in 1936, the police
raided Il Moro's home, pounding at the door in the
night with no warrant or warning. He pleaded with the
fascists not to damage the fragile glass plates, but
over 1,000 of the irreplaceable negatives were smashed
before him as he wept. Those not destroyed outright
were roughly thrown into crates and carried away as
evidence. Many more were destroyed in the process. Il
Moro was accused of "keeping pornography" and once
again taken off to jail because of his association
with Von Gloden.
Il Moro was now in his fifties, a simple man with no
formal education. Yet he was intelligent and possessed
considerable knowledge of the world owing to his
lifelong relationship with Von Glœden and his friends.
He was capable of turning his defense against the
chargest of pornography into an astonishing defense of
the memory of Wilhelm Von Glœden, and of his life and
his art. This simple man risked contempt of court in a
potentially hostile tribunal in the midst of fascist
insanity. In a passionate plea before the judges, he
told the court that it was not within its competence
to judge works of art of any kind. As evidence of the
error of the charge of pornography, he listed
countless names of collectors: museums, critics,
kinds, industrialists and institutions - including the
Italian Ministry of Education! Il Moro finished his
impassioned statement, and then rested his otherwise
undefended case.
Miraculously, the judges concurred! Had the trial
occured just one year later, after a purge of liberal
judges, Il Moro would likely have spent the remaining
years of his life in prison, and the word would have
been deprived of most of Von Glœden's photographs. The
verdict could not, unfortunately, save the plates
which had already been destroyed. The remaining plates
- less than half of the original number - were
distributed among and safely hidden by local families,
priests, and scholarly institutions until the end of
World War II. In the course of these moves, many
plates were lost. When the collection was finally
reassembled, it was found that of the more than 3,000
plates (given to Il Moro), less than a third survived.
Several hundred are still preserved by Bucini's own
heirs in Taormina today.
Under provisions in the alliance Bucini was again
accused, in 1936, of "keeping pornography" and a raid
on von Glœden's archives destroyed or damaged more
than half his negatives, all of those that survived
were impounded by the government. A subsequent trial
acquitted Bucini and the estate of pornography charges
but the glass plates were not returned until after
World War II. By then only a few hundred remained
intact, the remainder were either shattered or damaged
beyond use. Most of what we know of von Glœden's work
has come to us from the collections of his admirers.
Other confiscations occurred between the years 1939
and 1941. In the legal action which ensued, Bucini was
charged with contributing to the dissemination of
pornography, but found not guilty.
Pancrazio Bucini passed away in the 1950s but his
descendants remain in Taormina to this day. The
remnants of von Glœden work, some 800 glass negatives
and 200 albumen prints, were transferred to the
photographic archives of Lucio Amelio in Naples.
It's difficult to estimate the exact output but a
commonly held figure is around 7000 pictures. Of the
3000 glass masters and negatives seized by the
authorities in the mid-30s, only 25% were returned
intact. Substantial collections reside in the hands of
the Florence firm Alinari; the Kinsey Institute claims
250; and smaller collections are prized by
institutions and independent collectors. Currently,
shows travel on all continents and still,
occasionally, provoke controversy.
Even after the war, laws in Italy and Germany,
remnants of the former fascist governments, forbade
nudity in photography. Under the pressure of the
Catholic Chruch and the right wing, these laws were
allowed to remain on the books. The ban on buying and
selling such photographic work assured an ongoing
suppression of Von Glœden's vision. But it did not
suppress the desire of informed collectors. Von Glœden
prints were sold out of the back rooms of art
galleries and book shops, much as liquor was sold in
the U.S. during the years of Prohibition.
But finally, legal challenges in the late 1960s and
early 1970s allowed the purchase of pictorial nudity
and other so-called pornographic materials. Von
Glœden's work has been slowly reprinted, and is now
readily available throughout the West (including the
U.S.). Von Glœden's art is once against accepted and
admired as it was during his own lifetime.
The last surviving boy model who exposed himself to
the great photographer's lens, died in 1977, at the
age of 87. It is accepted that all of the models were
photographed willingly and many were paid handsomely
in royalties, their descendants continuing to prosper
as a result today. No harm was done then; how can
there be any harm done by showing the images,
savouring the male beauty, and reliving, however
briefly, the halcyon heaven von Gloeden created for
himself, his friends and lovers on the romantic
seaside in the heart of the ancient world.
As we have seen, many of Gloeden's photographic plates
were destroyed by the fascist authorities as being
obscene, but it is not only Italian fascists who are
against von Glœden's art...
A 1999 showing in Australia by the Martin Browne Fine
Art gallery was closed after complaints to police by
the Rev. Fred Niles that the images constituted child
abuse and pornography!
Today, anyone who visits the Sicilian tourist resort
of Taormina and picks through the stands of the
"cartoleria", the local postcard merchants and
souvenir traders - for instance stopping by the
venerable firm of the Malambri Brothers - may come
across some sepia-toned postcards, and some very good
books still celebrating the little that remains of von
Glœden's art
VtNM: The Male Body in the Fine Arts and Popular Culture
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