Olympic Photos by Paul Richer - Part 5

 Olympic Photos by Paul Richer, Part 5

We continue our series of nude photographs by Paul Richer of athletes in the 1900 Paris Olympics.  Richer was on an official Olympic commission to study the athletes.  Richer was responsible for taking nude anthropomorphic photos of the athletes, and since it was an official commission, almost all the athletes who were asked to participate did so.

We start with French-Algerian cyclist Leonce Ehrmann, above.

Here are Paul Richer's photos of Ehrmann, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.  Disclosure: I have removed yellowing from Richer's photos and brightened them.

Johannes Gandil was a Danish runner and football (soccer) player.  He is seen above with the Danish Olympic football team in 1908.  He is the second from the left, with the mustache.

Here's Johannes Gandil in 1900, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Émile Gontier was a French pole vaulter.  I got this photo of him from Vintage Muscle Men.  Thanks, Jerry!

Here's Émile Gontier, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Our last Olympic athlete today is Canadian marathon runner Dick Grant, seen at left above.  I also got this photo from Vintage Muscle Men.  Thanks, Jerry!

Here's Dick Grant, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Next time: more Paul Richer Olympic athlete photos.

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer - Part 4

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer, Part 4

We continue our series of nude photographs by Paul Richer of athletes in the 1900 Paris Olympics.  Richer was on an official Olympic commission to study the athletes.  Richer was responsible for taking nude anthropomorphic photos of the athletes, and since it was an official commission, almost all the athletes who were asked to participate did so.

We start with French long jump champion Albert Delannoy.  Above, Delannoy in 1898.

Here are Paul Richer's photos of Albert Delannoy, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.  Disclosure: I have removed yellowing from Richer's photos and brightened them.

Henri Deloge was a French runner, seen here behind Charles Bennett in the 1500m race in the 1900 Olympics.  Deloge won a silver medal in the 1500m race and the 5000m race.

Here's Henri Deloge, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Kurt Doerry was a German runner.  Above, we see him decades later in 1928 with other senior competitors in a race in Berlin.  He is the 5th from the left.

Here's Kurt Doerry in 1900, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Our last Olympic athlete today is U.S. runner Walter Drumheller, seen above.

My source was missing the front view of him.  Here's the rear view ...

and the side view.

Next time: more Paul Richer Olympic athlete photos.

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer - Part 3

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer, Part 3

We continue our series of nude photographs by Paul Richer of athletes in the 1900 Paris Olympics.  Richer was on an official Olympic commission to study the athletes.  Richer was responsible for taking nude anthropomorphic photos of the athletes, and since it was an official commission, almost all the athletes who were asked to participate did so.

We start with German cyclist Willy Arend.  Above is Arend in 1901.

Here are Paul Richer's photos of Willy Arend, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.  Disclosure: I have removed yellowing from Richer's photos and brightened them.

Albert Charbonnel was a French runner who won the 5000 meter race in the 1900 Olympics.  Above, Charbonnel trails another runner in a race in 1903.

Here is Albert Charbonnel, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Next is Belgian runner Pierre Charbonnel.  I could not find any photos of him other than the nude photos by Paul Richer.  Here is the front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Our last Olympic athlete today is Danish runner Christian Christensen.  Above, we see him displaying a chest full of medals.  In the 1900 Olympics he won the 800 meter handicap race.

Here is Christian Christensen, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Next time: more Paul Richer Olympic athlete photos.

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer - Part 2b

 Olympic Photos by Paul Richer, Part 2b

Yesterday some of you wondered how Paul Richer was able to get so many Olympic athletes to pose nude in 1900.  I did a little digging, and this is what I found.

As part of the 1900 Paris Olympics, a Commission on Hygiene and Physiology was created to study the athletes, to determine the effects of various sports on bodily functions, respiration, blood circulation, digestion, and general health.  Further, the Commission was to study the various sports themselves, attempt to understand their mechanisms, and uncover the secret of superiority of certain athletes.  Quite an assignment!

Remember, the 1900 Paris Olympics was only the second Olympics in modern times (the first was the Athens Olympics in 1896), so sports physiology was a new idea.

The Commission was headed by French physiologist Étienne-Jules Marey, who was renowned for photographing and studying human movement, much like his contemporary Eadweard Muybridge was doing in the U.S.  And like Muybridge, Marey photographed many of his subjects naked.  He invented a camera that took multiple images on film at even intervals; however, he couldn't play back the images with even timing (a problem solved later by Thomas Edison).  The gif above is from photos that Marey took called Homme Qui Marche (Man Walking), c. 1890.

As head of the Commission, Marey took many series of photos (mini-movies) of the Olympic athletes.  Most of them were clothed or at least wore jockstraps, but one athlete was captured performing in the nude, throwing what looks like a shot put overhand (above) ...

and underhand.  Unfortunately, we don't know the name of this athlete.

And what about Paul Richer?  He was also on the same Commission, and he was tasked with taking anthropomorphic photos of the athletes.  To Richer, that meant nude photos.

Because this was an official Olympic commission, almost all the athletes who were asked to participate did so.  The result, in addition to Marey's little movie sequences, was that Richer took about 300 nude photos of Olympic athletes, including the photos that I will be showing in this series.

Next time: more Paul Richer Olympic athlete photos.

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer - Part 2

 Olympic Photos by Paul Richer, Part 2

We continue our series of nude photographs by Paul Richer of athletes in the 1900 Paris Olympics.

We start with British runner Edgar Bredin (1868-1934), above.  Bredin won gold medals in three races (100, 400, and 1500 meters) in a single day.

Here are Paul Richer's photos of Edgar Bredin, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.  Disclosure: I have removed yellowing from Richer's photos and brightened them.

Jean Broka (born 1879) from Belgium competed as a cyclist and also as a runner.

Here is Jean Broka, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Yngvar Bryn (1881-1947), at left above with his wife Alexia and Richard Johansson, was a Norwegian sport pioneer.  After winning silver medals as a runner in the Norwegian Athletic Championships at age 18, he represented Norway as a runner in the 1900 Olympics.  In 1908 he switched to figure skating, and with his wife won national figure skating championships 11 times.