Vintage Muscle Men

Saturday, November 1, 2025

Jerry's Vacation

Jerry's Vacation

As many of you know, I spent a big chunk of September on vacation. My destination was Norway and Sweden with quick side trips to Copenhagen and Helsinki. This was not my usual sort of holiday as the main purpose was to connect the dots on my Y-DNA (father to grandfather to great-grandfather, ad infinitum) test results. My background is very Scottish, but there is a surprising link to Scandinavia that isn't the typical "Vikings raid Scotland" thing. If you want to know more about that, private message me, and I'll be happy to share. Meanwhile, the small group I traveled with were happy to visit art museums, so I will be doing some series based on them starting today. The pictures are my own.

National Museum of Sweden, Part 1 - Eugene Jansson

Our first stop was Stockholm, mainly because it was the least expensive city to fly into. (No one will call it the least expensive city for any other reason.) The Nationalmuseum Sveriga or Swedish National Museum is a must on any art lover's list. Their diverse collection prompted me to do a three part series on my visit there. We start with someone whose work you have seen here before, Eugene Jansson, and his self portrait at the Floating Bath House. Click on his label below or in the right hand column for more of his work and some biographical info.

Athletes

Here we see Athletes from 1912.

Early self portrait

This early Eugene Jansson self portrait was in a stray corner of the museum.

National Museum of Sweden, Part 2 - The Sculpture Collection

The scupture collection at the National Museum in Stockholm isn't as big as many in Europe, but it makes up in quality what it might lack in quantity. Above is Apollo Kitharoidos from 1838 by Bengt Erland Fogelberg, 1785-1854. There are more works by Fogelberg in the collection than any other artist, including his mentor Johan Sergel whose work will also appear here today.

Diomedes

This is Diomedes by Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel, 1740-1814. Although his works in the National Museum are nearly all Classical in theme, his bronzes of Swedish monarchs and notables decorate several public spaces in and around Stockholm, including a city square named for him.

Neptune

This is Neptune by Giovanni da Bologna, 1529-1608.

Odin

Fogelberg went to Norse mythology for the inspriration for Odin from 1830.

I'm showing the amazing detail of the fabric and well formed legs below.

Paris

Bengt Erland Fogelberg sculpted Paris in 1824-25. Although I might prefer

a more overtly masculine subject, I won't fault the skill of the artist.

Mars

This is Mars, listed by the National Museum as "possibly by Sussini."

Otriades

This is Otriades by Johan Tobias Sergel from 1779. This outstanding work

got the Swedish sculptor elected to the prestigious French Academy.

Thor

Although his midsection is covered, this 1844 statue of Thor by Fogelberg

presents us with a very well formed male. I'd love to have met the model.

Plaster Copies

I was only a little surprised to find plaster copies of two Classical statues in a prestigious

European museum, having previously encountered them at the Victoria and Albert in London.

It was quite the thing to do in the mid to late 19th Century so as to bring such work to the

masses who could not afford to travel to Rome or Paris to see the originals. Above

is a version of the Discobolus and below is Silenus with the infant Bacchus.

National Museum of Sweden, Part 3 - Midvinterblot

The main entrance hall to the National Museum in Stockholm features what is by all accounts

the most controversial painting in the history of Sweden, Midvinterblot or Midwinter Sacrifice.

(And no, it is not a mural, but a painting.) Artist Carl Larsson was originally commissioned

to create art for the side walls of the central staircase, but he lobbied until the directors added

the huge main wall. He commenced in 1911 and went through at least five versions before

having the finished piece rejected. It depicts the sacrifice of legendary King Domalde, and it

was not finally installed into its hopefully final location until 1997. As one museum docent

told me, "Only we Swedes could argue about something that long." And believe it or not,

the nudity of the King was not one of the reasons given for the rejection.

Just the Painting

The entire painting is hard to photograph, and this is the best I could do to fit it all in.

Setting the scene

Rather than showing the actual bloody sacrifice scene,

Larsson chose to paint the final preparations.

King Domalde

Poor Domalde had been cursed by his stepmother and everything imaginable went wrong during his reign. It was persistent crop failures and the resultant famine that did him in. Given how good looking Larsson painted him, I would have suggested some alternate fertility enhancing ritual.

Friday, October 31, 2025

Models pretending to box

Today we look at some models pretending to box. Almost all of these are by AMG, and many of those were made during the years when a lot of Bob Mizer's models were bad boys, hustlers, and/or trollops. We start with a guy who looks like an AMG model I've seen, but I can't place the name.

Sailor

This unknown AMG sailor is said to date from 1964.

Unlaced gloves

Whoever staged this one didn't even bother to lace up the gloves.

Jim Horn and John Dole

That's Jim Horn at left with John Dole in a still from an AMG film loop called Brother Hood.

Odd tattoos

My source says this is by AMG,and those homemade tattoos look familiar,

but I don't know who this guy is.

AMG Again

The location and flooring tell me this is AMG,

but I have no clue as to the models' names.

Jim and Rick

That's Jim Collette at left with his brother Rickin a 1967 photo my source says

is by Pat Milo. I'm not certain about the photographer, though.

John Apache

Bob Mizer of AMG took this shot of John Apache in 1974, and I just realized

that those might not be boxing gloves. What do y'all think?

Either way, he looks like he would hit somebody.

Unknown X 2

I know neither the models' nor the photographer's name

for this realistally staged picature.

Ray and Joe

Our last boxing shot features Joe Cook at right and Ray Cox at left.

At least that's what I think the handwriting below each says.

And I haven't forgotten Halloween. Scroll down.

Halloween 2025

I almost forgot that today is Halloween, and I have so few unused vintage Halloween photos that it will have to be a mini-set. We start with a guy in a paper mache headdress at the once legendary Olive Dell Ranch nudist resort near Redlands, California. Having held out long after most similar facilities disappeared, a double murder and an uncooperative landlord forced the remaining nudists to either put on clothes or leave earlier this year. A lawsuit with 56 plaintiffs has been filed.