Guglielmo Plüschow (born Wilhelm Plüschow; August 18, 1852 - January 3, 1930) was a German photographer who moved to Italy and became known for his nude photos of local youths, predominantly males. Plüschow was a cousin of Wilhelm von Gloeden, who, despite taking up nude photography later than Plüschow, soon overshadowed him. Plüschow was several times at odds with the law and charged with corruption of minors. Today, his photography is recognized for its artistic merits, but it generally is considered somewhat inferior to Gloeden's because of his less graceful handling of lighting and the sometimes strangely stilted poses of his models.
Not much is known about Plüschow's early life, except that he was born in Wismar as the eldest of seven brothers and sisters. His father Friedrich Carl Eduard Plüschow was an illegitimate child of Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the family home was Schloss Plüschow.
In the early 1870s, he moved to Rome and changed his first name from Wilhelm to its Italian equivalent Guglielmo. Initially making a living as a wine merchant, he soon turned to male and female nude photography. Later he also worked in Naples.
One of Plüschow's more famous models was Vincenzo Galdi (pictured left), who was probably one of Plüschow's lovers. Galdi later became a photographer in his own right, as well as an art gallery owner.
In 1902, Plüschow, who was gay like Gloeden, was charged with "common procuration" and "seduction of minors" and had to spend eight months in jail. Another scandal followed in 1907, and in 1910, Plüschow left Italy for good and returned to Berlin.[1] The accusations caused the police to seize a lot of his photographs, while Vincenzo Galdi was considered his accomplice. [2]
In Steve Berman's short story "The Haferbräutigam" Plüschow has an encounter with a mischievous spirit while travelling back to Wismar in 1907.