Charles Leslie - Wilhelm von Gloeden Photographer - ‎1977

 Charles Leslie - Wilhelm von Gloeden, Photographer - A Brief Introduction to His Life and Work - New York, Soho Publishers, 1977 - 1st edition - 144 pp - 109 images in duotone - Softcover - 30 × 22 cm - Text in English.

Initially Wilhelm von Gloeden could live on a modest family capital, but when his stepfather Wilhelm Joachim von Hammerstein fell into disfavour with the German emperor Wilhelm II because of a political scandal in 1889, the family lost its capital and Von Gloeden had to look for a paid job. In the meanwhile, he was trained in photography and became an art photographer.

His main theme was the nude young man, a revolutionary topic for that time. His models were not hard to find: Sicilian boys from poor families were always happy to serve as his models. They were photographed alone or in groups, in most cases naked.

In 1878, at the beginning of his stay in Taormina, he made friends with a 14 year old boy, Pancrazio Bucini, nicknamed ‘il Moro’ (the Moor). Bucini would remain his partner for the rest of Von Gloeden’s life, both personally and in business. After Von Gloeden's death in 1931, he inherited approximately 3,000 glass plates with photographs by Von Gloeden. Il Moro was called to account by the fascist authorities for this largely pornographic work, but his plea not to look at art with legal standards was successful. In the end, about one third of the collection survived the numerous attacks.