La feuille de vigne de Sandow

    [From 1888 to 1894], Sandow merchandised his body by posing for photographs, garnering profit and publicity for himself. He is often almost fully nude, his genitals hidden only by a well-positioned fig leaf. The photos were distributed as studies to inspire men who were involved in “physical culture,” the contemporary term for bodybuilding. But Sandow’s poses were also highly erotic spectacles targeted to gay men. The shape of the fig leaf, how the photographer (or Sandow) positioned it, how the photographer arranged the studio light to strike it, and even its size were calculated to tickle gay men’s fantasies. Light on the fig leaf was used to suggest penis length and girth , and the fig leaf might even be positioned to suggest an erection .

La feuille de vigne, par on éclairage et son dessin est visiblement destinée à susciter l'illusion du sexe, et appuie de façon emphatique sur le pli de la nervure centrale. La seconde pose (renversée) a donné naissance à un "faux" célèbre, qui n'est pas réussi par le respect de la dimension initiale, alors que l'accessoire cache forcément quelque chose de plus petit est de moins velu:

La feuille est parfois plus en creux, compensée par le tronçon de colonne qui habille l'image

Est-ce un défaut de cette copie de l'image si sur ce cliché plus tardif quelque chose paraît dépasser sous le "pagne" léopard un peu trop remonté au-dessus de la taille:

Pour rappel, la seule véritable photo frontale nue est celle de la séance de moulage

  Pourtant  le thème de la feuille fait apparaître des variations contradictoires:
Sandow par Sarony en 1893

La feuille plate tenue par un fil des frères Warwick en 1898

 

Falk en 1894 qui remplace la feuille de vigne par une feuille de laurier?

 

Le même Falk avait déjà mis Sandow sur un vélo à Londres:

 Dans d'autres poses (Falk encore) la suggestion fonctionne par la mise en scène:

Some poses included subtexts that seem to be there for the benefit of certain men. In “The Dying Parthian” for example, some viewers might see only a valiant but vanquished warrior defending himself with his last breath. Nude, on the ground, weakened by battle, he heroically continues. But he’s also raising his sword to produce an effect that, because it extends from his crotch, is undeniably phallic. He seems to be offering it to the soldier who’s just defeated him in battle (a peace offering? a bargaining tool?).

In “The Dying Gaul” (Fig. 6), the nude Sandow, again lying on the ground, looks up. His thighs are spread, his right arm up, his right hand open, palm out, imploring the gods to spare him from impending death even as his face suggests a pained  acceptance of his fate. This, at any rate, would be the “straight” interpretation of the scene. However, a gay man might be forgiven for seeing Sandow in a state of sexual arousal, perhaps reaching toward his lover, his thighs spread in invitation. Indeed his expression is that of a man in an erotic swoon, not in the last throes of life.

 Il y a deux versions du Gaulois mourant, la plus roche de la statue originale n'est pas celle avec le bras tendu:

En réalité, les seules photos où Sandow soit vraiment nu sont des photos de dos