APCOM

Altogether 150 photos ranging from nudes to landscapes, documents, books, notes and original prints: the Palazzo della Ragione in Piazza Mercanti, Milan, hosts the exhibit "Wilhelm von Gloeden. Fotografie Nudi Paesaggi Scene di genere".

Best known for his pastoral nude studies of Sicilian boys, which usually featured props such as wreaths or amphoras suggesting a setting in ancient  Greece or Italy, Wilhelm von Gloeden is one of the best known German photographers who lived and died in Sicily where he had moved for health reasons. He settled in Taormina, a small seaside town which he was to call his "heaven on earth".

"Von Gloeden - explained Municipality's Culture Councillor Vittorio Sgarbi - is one of the first photographers to have explored "myth", a theme very much present in the arts of representations, from paintings to sculptures". The exhibit is put together by Italo Zannier.

The first monographic retrospective in Italy dedicated to the artist dates back to 1978 and took place in Spoleto, Umbria, during the "Festival dei due Mondi". At the time it stirred up a lot of controversy and was accused of being scandalous.