• Venus as a Boy //
  • Simply put, gods.

    I do not own any of these pictures, if you do and you do not wish it published here, notify me and I will take it down. //
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His capability of infusing homoerotic tensions in his picture is also one of the reason why he gained his fame. Just simply look at this picture and you can easily imagine both the dialogue and the fantasy going on in both their mind. JC Leyendecker, trained classically, managed to combine both his perfected knowledge of the human body and his genius in capturing human gestures to create paintings with stories and depth within each brush strokes to occupy our minds. It is time for him to be remembered again, I recently bought a copy of his collection from Cutler & Cutler publishing, to be awed and slightly aroused with his collection of paintings. It is something really worth taking a look at. JC Leyendecker’s touch is actually all around us. He set the trend for flower giving for Mother’s Day, he created the New Year Baby, he even standardized the colour for Santa’s suit! It is a shame his colleague Norman Rockwell is more celebrated now when he too was so influenced by JC Leyendecker, studying his every move to be on Leyendecker’s level.
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by JC Leyendecker. His paintings of ideal men became the standard of beauty for men at the time. Hell, it still is for me. Broad shoulders, narrow hips, the perfect triangular beauty of a male form complimented with soft lips and deep, sometimes flirtatious sometimes longing eyes. A painting that tells more about the painter than the painting itself.
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Another painting based on Beach, albeit a change of hair colour.
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JC Leyendecker has a lifetime parter, Charles Beach, who once modeled for him and then became his lover until his death. He was indeed handsome, with broad shoulders, deep eyes and luscious lips. He was described as a “Fine, intelligent gentleman you would expect from any Ivy League school” even though he did not attend one. He was originally from Canada, who, when first meeting Leyendecker, has just returned from a year-long stay in Europe. Originally hired by Joe’s brother, FX Leyendecker, it was only until a bit later on did Joe actually met Charles and it was as if Joe’s dream came true that very instant. Every since that meeting, they were inseparable until the very end. Charles Beach modeled for a painting for a client, The Arrow Collar brand. As the Arrow Collar man gain recognition, it catapulted Joe’s career and set the standard for what is handsome. The public was in awe about this perfect man. Every woman wanted to be with him (and I am sure half of the men did too) and the rest of the guys wanted to be like him. Little did they know that their ideal model of a man is based on the painter’s life long lover. Leyendecker died in Beach’s arms when he was 77 in 1951, while Beach, who never recovered from this heartbreak, died the next year.
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The very obvious sexual tension is pretty amazing considering they aren’t doing anything frisky.
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The Literary Digest cover by JC Leyendecker. I want to share with you guys this amazing artist, that inspires Norman Rockwell, Sundblom’s Santa and countless generations after them. Hundreds of Saturday Evening Post’s cover, more than Norman ever did. He set the standard of flower giving on Mother’s Day and presented us with the iconic Santa and we know and love today. (He made Santa’s outfit red, which sets the trend. Before, Santa’s outfit was pretty colourful) His homo erotic art is subtle, but striking for those with the eyes to see. His men are synonymous with elegant handsomeness, masculinity, broad shoulders with those penetrating eyes, which, in other words, are Eye Candies. Be inspired by his art and remind the world of the Art of J.C. Leyendecker, the Great American Illustrator!
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