French photographer, illustrator, and graphic artist Raymond Carrance (1921–1998) worked under the pseudonym Czanara, producing homoerotic photographs and drawings during the mid-20th century. I find his photography more interesting than his drawings, although some of it feels a bit derivative of Wilhelm von Gloeden, who was working half a century earlier.
*All images except #4a below are by Raymond Carrance aka Czanara in the mid-1950s to early 1960s.
What draws me to Carrance's photographs is their honesty. I love the high contrast and darkened backgrounds that make the figures pop, but even more, I love how natural the men appear. No muscle flexing or exaggerated poses. They're climbing trees, wading through water, stretching, or simply sitting alone, sometimes in precarious positions that leave them looking surprisingly vulnerable. It's almost as though we're seeing them when no one is watching, which is funny considering there's a photographer standing right there.
There's an unmistakable homoeroticism in these images, too, but it doesn't feel forced. Carrance captures something softer and more intimate about men that I find both beautiful and hot. Sometimes the most revealing thing about a naked man isn't what he's showing, but what he's doing when he seems to have forgotten he's being watched.
Please leave thoughts, questions, additions or corrections in the comments. Thank you, bns
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