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Wilhelm von Gloeden

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Photographer

The Resume

    (September 16, 1856-February 16, 1931)
    Born in Wismar, Germany
    Known primarily for his nude studies of Sicilian teenaged males, often with props to suggest ancient Greece or Rome
    Pictures include ‘Caino,’ ‘Hypnos,’ ‘Reclining Male Nude Beside Vase,’ ‘Italian Boy Posing as Bacchus,’ ‘Three Graces’ and ‘Land of Fire’
    Produced over 7,000 photos during his career

Why he might be annoying:

    He falsely claimed to be a baron.
    He lived off an allowance until his stepfather lost his fortune in 1895.
    He began a sexual affair with one of his models, Pancrazio Bucini, when Bucini was 14.
    Over 2,000 negatives (which he had left to Bucini) were seized by Italian police and destroyed for being obscene in two raids (1933,1936).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He settled in Sicily to recover from tuberculosis.
    He also photographed landscapes that helped make Sicily a popular tourist destination.
    He developed body makeup (a mixture of milk, olive oil, and glycerin) to hide skin blemishes.
    He paid his models well enough that several were able to launch their own businesses.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying