Speeding into the 20th century

Encountered on Pinterest today, this cover of Collier’s magazine from 1/19/1907: an early J.C. Leyendecker work of gay soft porn in the style of classical sculpture (an art form that lets the artist get away with a lot), which is also a hymn to rapid transport in the early 20th century:

“The Speed God” posed with a stylized caduceus against a hot air balloon, while the messenger of the Roman gods poses his muscular body on the hood of an early automobile

And then there are Mercury’s truly fabulous winged sandals, which appear to be living creatures in their own right.

(JCL appears every so often on this blog — most recently in my 9/2 posting “Leyendecker Labor Day”.)

This entry was posted on September 15, 2024 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Art, Language and the body, Male art, Myths, Shoes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Speeding into the 20th century”

arnold zwicky Says:
September 16, 2024 at 4:29 am | Reply
Tim Evanson on Facebook:

Leyendecker used his partner, Charles Beach, as the model for Arrow shirt ads and for many of his “fancy man” illustrations.
It would be fascinating to know if he used a model for Mercury, and if so, who it was.

Beach (1881 – 1954) lived with Leyendecker from 1903 to 1951; he was almost surely the model for Mercury in January 1907, when he was 25.

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