Guglielmo Plüschow (born Wilhelm Plüschow; August 18, 1852 – January 3, 1930) was a German photographer who moved to Italy and became known for his nude photos of local youths, predominantly males. Plüschow was a cousin of

Wilhelm von Gloeden Wilhelm Iwan Friederich August von Gloeden (September 16, 1856 – February 16, 1931), commonly known as Baron von Gloeden, was a German photographer who worked mainly in Italy. He is mostly known for his pastoral nude studies of Sicilian bo ...

, who, despite taking up nude photography later than Plüschow, soon overshadowed him. Plüschow was several times at odds with the law and charged with corruption of minors. Today, his photography is recognized for its artistic merits, but it generally is considered somewhat inferior to Gloeden's because of his less graceful handling of lighting and the sometimes strangely stilted poses of his models.

Biography

Not much is known about Plüschow's early life, except that he was born in

Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

as the eldest of seven brothers and sisters. His father Friedrich Carl Eduard Plüschow was an illegitimate child of

Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , house =House of Mecklenburg , father =Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , mother =Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , birth_date = , birth_place =Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Schwerin , de ...

and the family home was Schloss Plüschow. In the early 1870s, he moved to Rome and changed his first name from Wilhelm to its Italian equivalent Guglielmo. Initially making a living as a wine merchant, he soon turned to male and female nude photography. Later he also worked in Naples. One of Plüschow's more famous models was Vincenzo Galdi (pictured left), who was probably one of Plüschow's lovers. Galdi later became a photographer in his own right, as well as an art gallery owner. In 1902, Plüschow, who was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

like Gloeden, was charged with "common procuration" and "seduction of minors" and had to spend eight months in jail. Another scandal followed in 1907, and in 1910, Plüschow left Italy for good and returned to Berlin. The accusations caused the police to seize a lot of his photographs, while Vincenzo Galdi was considered his accomplice.

In popular culture

In Steve Berman's short story "The Haferbräutigam" Plüschow has an encounter with a mischievous spirit while travelling back to Wismar in 1907.

Gallery

File:Pluschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. 10125 - da - Et in Arcadia ego p. 97.jpg, ''Boy Posed as John the Baptist'' File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. Al 0051.jpg, ''Algerian Boy'' File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. 4006 - In - Zannier, p. 88 positivo.jpg, ''Young Man in the Nude'' File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. 8503 - The Christian martyr.jpg, ''The Christian Martyr'' File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von, Étude de Jeune Adolescent, 1895.jpg, Untitled File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. 9903 - timbrato, e con timbro di Fotografia Aurora, Via Babuino, 103, Roma.jpg, Untitled File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. 6423 recto - Galerie David Guiraud, Paris.jpg, Nude Study File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von, Femme nue, ca.1900.jpg, ''Nude Woman'' File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. Al 0582.png, ''Algerian Boy'' File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. 7383 - Galerie Bassenge.jpg, Untitled File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. 6447 - Timbrato ebay.jpg, Untitled File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. 11154 recto.jpg, Untitled File:Plüschow, Wilhelm von (1852-1930) - n. 6429 - Ragazzo nero e donna.jpg, ''Interracial Couple''

References

Literature

* Bernhard Albers (ed.), ''Galdi / Gloeden / Plüschow. Aktaufnahmen aus der Sammlung Uwe Scheid'', Rimbaud Presse, Aachen 1993 * ''Et in Arcadia ego. Fotografien von Wilhelm von Gloeden, Guglielmo Plüschow und Vincenzo Galdi'', Edition Oehrli, Zurich 2000 * Volker Janssen (ed.), ''Wilhelm von Gloeden, Wilhelm von Plüschow, Vincenzo Galdi: Italienische Jünglings-Photographien um 1900'', Janssen Verlag, Berlin 1991 * Marina Miraglia, ''Guglielmo Plüschow alla ricerca del bello ideale'', in: "AFT (Archivio Fotografico Toscano)", IV 7, luglio 1988, pp. 62–67 * Ulrich Pohlmann, ''Wer war Guglielmo Plüschow?'', "Fotogeschichte", n. 29, VIII 1988, pp. 33–38. * Uwe Scheid, ''Il vero nudo: Aktstudien von Guglielmo Plüschow'', "Fotogeschichte" n. 29, VIII 1988, pp. 9–21. * Peter Weiermair, ''Guglielmo Plüschow,'' Taschen verlag, Köln 1994 * Winckelmann (pseud.), ''A rediscovered boy-photographer. Guglielmo Plüschow (1852-1930)'', "Gayme" n. III 1, 1996, pp. 22–30.

External links

Catalogue of Wilhelm von Plüschow's pictures

Bibliography

* Canet, Nicole (editor),
von Plüschow, Galdi, von Gloeden - Beautés Siciliennes
' - Nicole Canet, Paris, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pluschow, Guglielmo 1852 births 1930 deaths People from Wismar People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Photographers from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Gay photographers German gay artists German LGBT photographers Photography in Italy German erotic photographers Nude photography German expatriates in Italy