Photographers - Part 27

 Konrad Helbig

Konrad Helbig (1917-1986) was a German photographer.  He fought on the Eastern Front in World War II and was taken prisoner by the Russians.  After his release in 1947, at age 30, he began studying art history and archaeology.  Over the next few decades, he traveled to the Mediterranean, especially Sicily, and photographed and wrote articles about ancient art and archeological ruins for journals and travel magazines.

Only after his death in 1986 was it found that he had been photographing things besides ancient temples.  A trove of nude male photos was discovered in his estate.  Above, a young man fishing in the Anapo River, Sicily.

His photos of nude young Sicilian men are now seen in the tradition of photographers von Gloeden and Plüschow.

These photos were all taken in the 1950s and 1960s.  Above: young male nude, Sicily.

Nude youths in the ocean, Sicily.  

Young male nude with outstretched arm.  None of the photo titles are by Helbig, since none of the photos were exhibited during his lifetime.

In addition to his many photos of Sicilian youths, there are some photos from Brazil.  This is called Brazilian Samba, Rio de Janeiro.  

Nude Brazilian gymnast.

Young Brazilian nude man jumping.

After his death, some of Helbig's nude male photos were published as photo books.  This one is from a book of his photos of Sicilian youths called Ragazzi.

Another photo from the book Ragazzi.

We end with the cover of a second book of Helbig's nude male photos called Homo Sum.  The title is Latin for "I am a man," which is both scholarly and appropriate for the subject matter: nude men.  But I love the title because, to me, it's also a bilingual pun: "I am a homo."