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Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Photographers - Part 86

Vincenzo Galdi

Vincenzo Galdi (1871-1961) was an Italian art student whom German photographer Wilhelm von Pluschow took as his photography mentor and probably his lover.  Above, a photo of Galdi taken by von Pluschow in 1890, when Galdi was 19.

Galdi opened his own photography studio in Rome and continued to collaborate with von Pluschow.  Galdi took many nude photos, both male and female.  Above, Four Male Nudes, c. 1905.

But Galdi's work became increasingly explicit.  He was the first photographer in Italy to publish photos of men with erections.

He also published photos of couples having sex, both straight and gay.  The photo above is merely suggestive.

This one takes it a little further, kissing and touching each other.

Even further.

About to do it ...

and doing it.  This photo was probably hand-colored.

So, Vincenzo Galdi was one of the first porn photographers.

In 1902, von Pluschow was convicted of "seduction of minors" and spent eight months in jail.  Galdi may have been arrested and sentenced in 1907 for "outraging public morals" with his photographs, and the police closed both von Pluschow's and Galdi's studios.  Galdi then abandoned photography and became an art dealer until his death in 1961.

7 comments:

Big Dude said...

Surprising to see such explicit shots from that era.

whkattk said...

We have an entire museum here dedicated to porn and erotic art. it's an interesting place. They've got the first porn movies ever made from the late 1800s - early 1900s.

Anonymous said...

Way, way ahead of his time.

SickoRicko said...

Very artsy.

Anonymous said...

+ Il porno come arte ?
E una gran parte della clientela di Galdi comprendeva membri della nobilità e uomini facoltosi provenienti dall’Europa.
Alcuni dei quali si recarono a Taormina per acquistare fotografie ed essere “presentati” ad alcune delle modella.
Taormina era il loro parco giochi.
Quando scoppiarono gli scandali, la nobilità e i ricchi furono al riparo dalle ricadute ; Galdi e Pluschow furono i loro agnelli sacrificali.
Turinese 🇮🇹

nakedswimmer said...

It should be noted that mutual masturbation and oral were the standard gay sex of the day.

Anonymous said...

Very much so. Informative piece and hot photos. Wild to think some of this was going on so long ago.