There's something beautiful about black and white photography, particularly when the subject of the photographs is the naked male body.
I thought we'd dedicate this Man-Titty Monday to an appreciate of the fine arts — particularly the fine art of staring at sexy male torsos, with a nod or two to ancient sculpture, which I studied extensively in grad school.
Our culture tends to idolize the young female body. But the ancient Greeks considered the male body to be the height of beauty. Who am I to argue with them?
The photo above almost looks like a sculpture, complete with missing arms. Note the amazing obliques, the smooth slabs of muscle. This man is the sculpture of Doryphoros come to life.
They used marble to immortalize the bodies of young male athletes, though I have to say they skimped when it came to depicting the penis. Men with bodies like Adonis were given phalluses that looked like they belonged to prepubescent boys. Tom Thumb, anyone?The business bits of the man above have been left in shadow, so we're free to guess whether this man is built like a Greek statue in all respects or whether he is luckier when it comes to his genitals.
This one reminds me of a sculpture titled Laocoön (Λαοκόων in ancient Greek). Laocoön is writhing in agony in the famous sculpture depicting his death and that of his sons. I hope this man is writhing in pleasure — or just stretching and cupping his nuts because, well, he can.
Here's a side view of another candidate for a modern Doryphoros. The ancient Greeks cleaned themselves by rubbing their skin with oil and then scraping the oil off with a tool called a strigil. I would volunteer to spend my entire day stroking this man’s skin, though it’s a bummer that he comes pre-oiled. I would have enjoyed that job, as well.
I hoped this edition of MTM has brightened your morning and provided a measure of culture. One can never have enough art in one’s life.
Have a lovely day!