Thank you for stopping by the blog. I enjoy working on it every day.
I looked at photographs of Tony Sansone already on the blog and at images of him I'll load to the blog later this evening, and I'm still not certain this model is Sansone.
If I could find other images of Sansone wearing such a fig leaf and/or with this sort of background, I would likely be convinced.
This model's profile is a little harder than Sansone's. I couldn't find any images of Sansone with similar veins in his lower leg and along his throat.
This - would - be a very unusual picture of Sansone - I've never seen one with that sort of backdrop - but the more I look at it, the more I'm convinced. (Though I couldn't find anything similar, either....) As a portrait painter by profession, I'd argue that, facially, that was definitely him: the shape of the head (the high crown, shallow back of the head), the rather low hairline, the beautiful jawline, the slightly protruding lower lip. Another strong clue for me is the shape of the calves - the least graceful part of his physique; he had long thighs, short calves - and his ankles and feet. Sansone had rather large, flipper-y feet. If someone could be identified by feel alone, I'd argue that this was him! ; ) And there at least two pictures by Townsend in the Sansone book I have, that show the same vein and/or sinew configuration of the right inner calf so obvious here.
The lighting is also unusually hard and flat for an image of Sansone. Certainly not the careful lighting that you see in the images - often retouched, actually - of Townsend and Achille Volpe.
I am nearly convinced but think the harsh lighting and unusual background make me continue to wonder. I will keep him listed as an unknown model until I locate a similar image of him and/or with that background, which looks circa 1899.
This model looks thinner than Sansone appears in other images. In the photograph on this blog of him and Charles Atlas posing together
This looks to be an early photograph of the great Tony Sansone; that profile and the shape of the head is unmistakeable.
ReplyDeleteHello, Stephilius!
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by the blog. I enjoy working on it every day.
I looked at photographs of Tony Sansone already on the blog and at images of him I'll load to the blog later this evening, and I'm still not certain this model is Sansone.
If I could find other images of Sansone wearing such a fig leaf and/or with this sort of background, I would likely be convinced.
This model's profile is a little harder than Sansone's. I couldn't find any images of Sansone with similar veins in his lower leg and along his throat.
Best regards,
Michael
Hi Michael. I love this blog; I visit every day.
ReplyDeleteThis - would - be a very unusual picture of Sansone - I've never seen one with that sort of backdrop - but the more I look at it, the more I'm convinced. (Though I couldn't find anything similar, either....) As a portrait painter by profession, I'd argue that, facially, that was definitely him: the shape of the head (the high crown, shallow back of the head), the rather low hairline, the beautiful jawline, the slightly protruding lower lip. Another strong clue for me is the shape of the calves - the least graceful part of his physique; he had long thighs, short calves - and his ankles and feet. Sansone had rather large, flipper-y feet. If someone could be identified by feel alone, I'd argue that this was him! ; ) And there at least two pictures by Townsend in the Sansone book I have, that show the same vein and/or sinew configuration of the right inner calf so obvious here.
The lighting is also unusually hard and flat for an image of Sansone. Certainly not the careful lighting that you see in the images - often retouched, actually - of Townsend and Achille Volpe.
Hello, Stephilius!
ReplyDeleteI am nearly convinced but think the harsh lighting and unusual background make me continue to wonder. I will keep him listed as an unknown model until I locate a similar image of him and/or with that background, which looks circa 1899.
This model looks thinner than Sansone appears in other images. In the photograph on this blog of him and Charles Atlas posing together
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_waAT55VRsLo/TTN4XfkibEI/AAAAAAAAEYA/63_I8iaS-LA/s1600/Grace%2BSelon%2Bof%2BArt%2BCharles%2BAtlas%2B%2526%2BAnthony%2B001B.jpeg
Sansone looks a bit less sinewy. Sansone has larger thighs. And the pomade in Sansone's hair makes his head more shapely.
Best regards,
Michael