Artists - Part 26

 Eugene Jansson

Eugene Jansson (1862-1915) was a Swedish painter.  His early work consisted of portraits as well as nighttime landscapes and cityscapes dominated by shades of blue (his "blue period").  Then, around 1907, the subject of his paintings changed almost entirely to male nudes.  This is a 1910 self-portrait at the Navy bathhouse in Stockholm.

What changed in 1907?  Jansson started swimming at the bathhouse to combat his health issues. Above, Flottans Badhus (Navy Bathhouse), 1907.

This is a reference photo that Jansson used for Flottans Badhus.  The diver and sailors there really were naked.  Like the rest of the world in that era, the Swedish Navy saw no need for modesty when it was men-only.

This photo shows Eugene Jansson himself diving at the bathhouse.  I stole this photo from my friend Jerry's blog Vintage Muscle Men.  Thanks, Jerry!

Here at the bathhouse are Jansson (right) and Knut Nyman, who became Jansson's lover and lived at Jansson's studio from 1907 to 1913.  This photo is also from Vintage Muscle Men.  Thanks, Jerry!  To see his posts on Eugene Jansson with many more photos and paintings, click here.

The sailors at the bathhouse were a source of models for Jansson.  Many of Jansson's paintings depict them engaging in athletics, especially gymnastics, like Ring Gymnast, 1911 ...

And Acrobats, 1912 ...

And Athletes, 1912.

We end with this photo Three athletes in the studio at Glasbrukgatan, with some of Jansson's paintings behind them.  These three may be the models for the painting on the right.  Were they also there for more than modeling, like Knut Nyman?  We'll never know.  Jansson's private records were destroyed by his brother after Jansson died in 1915, because homosexuality was illegal in Sweden until 1944.

Vintage Athletes - Part 26

 Weightlifters

The oldest photo that I've seen of a weightlifter is this 1870 photo by French photographer Louis Igout.  The dumbbells are on the ground, but presumably he was using them.  I stole this photo from Vintage Muscle Men.  Thanks, Jerry!

I made this gif from a series of stop-motion photographs by Edweard Muybridge called "Nude man lifting and holding two 50-pound dumbbells" in his book Animal Locomotion, 1887. 

Around the beginning of the 20th century, seven brawny Swiss brothers dominated European weightlifting and wrestling competitions.  Above, Maurice Deriaz set a world record by lifting 211 livres (about 228 pounds) with one arm.

Maurice was also the favorite model of French artist Gustave Courtois.  This is Hercules at the Feet of Omphale, 1912, with Maurice as the model for Hercules.

Another painting by Courtois with Maurice as a model is Perseus rescuing Andromeda, 1913.

And this 1907 painting is just called Portrait of the Athlete Maurice Deriaz.  The artist Courtois was gay.  He never sold these three paintings with Maurice as a model.  Instead, in an extraordinary gesture, he gave them to Maurice, who kept them until he died and willed them to the Swiss town of Baulmes, where they now hang in the town hall.  What was the relationship between the gay artist and his handsome, muscular model?  Looking at this last portrait, I think I can guess.

Maurice's bother Adrien Deriaz, who was also a weightlifter, got even more exposure (pun intended) for his beautiful physique.  Here's a photo of him in 1899.

And here's another photo of Adrien for those who admire rear views.

Weightlifters attracted other artists, too.  This painting is Pushing Weights with Two Arms II by Swedish painter Eugene Jansson, 1913-1914.

And this is Jansson's 1915 painting Lifting Weights with One Arm.  We'll see more of Jansson's work tomorrow.

This is Ernest Cadine, a French weightlifter who won a gold medal in the 1920 Olympics.

Here's a guy lifting dumbbells c. 1930.

We've previously seen this photo called Lifting Weights in the Buff by mid-20th century Boston newspaper photographer Leslie Jones.

We end with another Olympic weightlifter, Stan Stanczyk.  He was on the 1948 U.S. Olympic weightlifting team.  Two years earlier, he posed for this photo by physique photographer Douglas of Detroit.

Calendars - Part 23

 Glasgow Marrow

Glasgow Marrow is an organization run by students at Glasgow University, Scotland.

It's a branch of the British charity Anthony Nolan, named after a boy who died from a blood disorder.  The charity manages a registry of people willing to donate bone marrow and stem cells, which are used to treat leukemia and other blood diseases.

For the past several years Glasgow Marrow has put out a naked calendar to raise funds for the charity.  The slogan "bare bums cure blood cancer" means that students baring their bums in the calendar raises money that ultimately saves lives.

For that reason, they celebrate the students who are brave enough to be in the calendar as heroes.

Here's a guy who is cheeky in more than one way.  The cheek swabs that they're talking about are done on people who register as potential bone marrow donors, to determine compatibility with patients who need a transplant.

The calendar features students from different sports teams in Glasgow University.  These guys are on the fencing team.  I don't think that's how the face masks are supposed to be worn.

These guys are on the American football team.  Somebody needs to tell them that's not what an American football looks like.

Do they have a surfing team in chilly Scotland?

Here are some more bare bums to remind you of their slogan.  They're supporting a very good cause.

Protests - Part 23

Manifestation nue, Montreal, 2012

In the 1960s, the government of Quebec instituted a publicly funded college system, with tuition fees frozen at low levels so that anyone could attend college who wanted to.  In 2012, the government proposed increasing tuition from $2168 to $3793, a 75% increase.  Students protested the increase, and many students went on strike.

In response, on May 18 the government passed Bill 78, which suspended classes at colleges where protests were happening, restricted the right of university employees to strike, and made demonstrations illegal unless approved in advance by the police.

Passage of the bill was immediately followed by major protests in Montreal and a breakdown of law and order at night.

On June 7, 2012, a "manifestation nue" (naked demonstration) was held in Montreal.  It was also called the "maNUfestation," a combination of the French words "manifestation" (demonstration) and "nu" (naked).  Almost all the protesters wore underwear, because public nudity was illegal in Montreal.  However, a few brave souls went totally nude, like the guys above ...

and this guy ...

and this guy.

This video shows three guys who climbed up onto a monument above the crowd.  After a count down in French, they strip naked to the crowd's approval.

Later, one of the three guys on the monument was interviewed by Quebec TV.

Here's a clip of him being interviewed (in French).  The symbol of the student protest was a red square, and you can see it painted on him just above his privates.

I think this is one of the TV crew congratulating him afterwards.

A student being decorated for another protest march on July 28.  Bill 78 was repealed in August, 2012, and students on strike returned to class.

Boys and their Balls - Part 21

 Water Polo

The July 1996 LIFE magazine cover featured a photo by Joe McNally of four members of the U.S. Olympic water polo team (from left: Rick McNair, Alex Rousseau, Chris Humbert, Chris Duplanty), under the title "Naked power."

More naked power.  This is a calendar photo of water polo players in the Queer Utah Athletic Club (QUAC).  The guy lying down at left is not wearing his cap properly, although it looks well-filled.

These members of the West Hollywood water polo team, photographed by Peter Bohler, are all wearing proper caps.  The rules specify that opposing teams must wear different color caps, and the goalies wear a third color (usually red) to identify them.  

It's a surprisingly brutal game.  Pushing, hitting, kicking another player, or grabbing his swimsuit are prohibited fouls, but a lot goes on underwater that the referee doesn't see.  Players wear tiny swimsuits that fit very tightly to make it harder for competitors to grab them.

The caps have built-in ear protectors.

Soccer balls were used in the early days of water polo, but they absorbed water and got too heavy.  Modern water polo balls are waterproof.

I found this photo labeled as a water polo player, but I didn't know if he was or not, since he wasn't wearing a cap.

It turned out to be an altered fake version of this photo of Hungarian water polo player Tamas Kasas.  He is an Olympic gold medal winner and one of the best water polo players in the world, but he wasn't naked.

Ironically, although the fake photo was very well done, it was superfluous in a way.  His private parts were already out on the Internet.  A quick search revealed this photo of Kasas in which his tiny swimsuit fails to cover his bulge.

Here are some friends playing naked water polo.  You can tell it's not a regulation game because (1) they're not wearing caps, (2) there are no goals at the ends of the pool, and (3) they're standing at the shallow end (real water polo is played in a deep pool that has no shallow end).  But they're having fun.

We end today with a clip from a 2006 Hungarian movie called Children of Glory. You can see it better if you view it fullscreen.

The players aren't naked, but it's worth watching. The film recreates a dramatic water polo game in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, between Hungary (wearing black caps) and Russia (wearing white caps). The 1956 Hungarian revolution against Communist rule had just been brutally crushed by Russia. In the pool, tensions were high. From the beginning, kicks and punches were exchanged in the water. As the game neared the end, Hungary was leading 4-0. Two of the goals were by 21-year-old Hungarian player Ervin Zádor.

With one minute left, Russian player Valentin Prokopov punched Zádor in the face, causing a bleeding gash. Angry spectators jumped over the barrier and mobbed the Russian team. The referees stopped the match and declared Hungary the winner. A famous photo shows Zádor with blood streaming down from his face, recreated at the end of this clip. The event became known as the "blood in the water match."

Of the 83 Hungarian athletes at the 1956 Olympics, only 38 returned to Hungary. The rest, including Ervin Zádor, defected to the West. In California, struggling to learn English, Zádor took a series of low-paying jobs until a group of Bay Area parents, hearing that he had been an Olympian, hired him as a swim coach for their children. One of his pupils was Mark Spitz, who went on to win 9 Olympic gold medals.

Weighing In - Part 24

 Tomáš Kužela

Tomáš "Thor" Kužela, born in 1981, is a Czech MMA fighter.  Here he is weighing in at the Fedor Emelianenko Cup in Russia in 2011.  Come on, Tomáš, no need to be shy.

That's better!

Here's a photo that he posted on his Facebook page.  I guess he really isn't shy.