Perhaps the earliest exhibition of human musculature for
esthetic purposes dates back to the ancient Greeks who believed that the
human body could reflect the beauty of the gods. This belief was evidenced
in Greek statuary in which the perfection of the gods was represented
through their ideal physical proportions. The ideal of physical esthetics
was artistically maintained through sculptor and paintings of the
Renaissance in a style known as Greek Revivalism.
Eugen Sandow
While the above represents that artistic expressions of
physical estheticism, the tangible expression which today became competitive
bodybuilding owes its origins to Eugen Sandow (1867- 1925). Sandow first gained
notoriety after winning the “Worlds Strongest Man” competition in England in
1889.Capitalizing on his new fame, Sandow toured various parts of the globe
performing acts of strength which included bending steel rods, lifting heavy
weights and wrestling a lion. Sandow latter introduced an element to his
performances in which he would enter a glass booth and perform a series of
muscular poses which were choreographed to music. After observing one of
Sandow’s performances in the glass booth, prominent promoter of the time,
Florenz Ziegfeld, was so impressed that he signed Sandow to perform for 10 weeks
at the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893 followed by a four year contract. In return
for his investment, Ziegfeld netted a quarter of a million dollars from Sandow’s
appearances throughout the world.
Due to the popularity of Sandow’s performance in
the glass booth, Ziegfeld changed his promotion strategy from “The Worlds
Strongest Man”, to “The Most Perfectly Developed Man in the World” (Daily
Telegraph (Sydney),
6 October 1902). Mimicking early Greek art, one point in Sandow’s
performance included Sandow’s naked physique, concealed only by an imitation
fig leaf, dusted with white powder looking every bit a living Greek statue.
As Sandow’s celebrity grew, he expanded his
influence into publishing as he launched his magazine “Physical Culture”
(latter known as “Sandow’s Physical Culture”) in 1898. Largely due to the
success of his magazine, as well as subsequent books on physical culture and
ultimately a book titled “Body Buliding, Man in the Making”
(Gale
& Polden, London, 1904), rival magazines
began to appear. By the
time of his death in 1925, Sandow had pioneered much of what has become
modern bodybuilding including the dynamics which have made it a profitable
enterprise.
In 1901, after three years of planning, Sandow held
a competitive physique event which was billed as “The Great Competition”.
Preparation for “The Great Competition” began in July of 1898 as the first
issue of Sandow’s magazine announced a contest that would be open to all
Sandow students in the United Kingdom. The purpose of this event was to
promote the spread of physical culture and to “afford encouragement to those
who are anxious to perfect their physiques”. The prize was a tempting 1,000
guineas (over $5,000 at the time). In addition to the cash prize, the man
judged to have the most perfectly developed physique would be awarded a gold
statuette of Sandow himself. In preparation for the event, Sandow organized
a series of local bodybuilding competitions, the winners of which became
eligible to compete in The Great Competition.
Due to the subjective nature of esthetic critique,
Sandow developed a system of judging which considered general development,
equality or balance of development, the condition and tone of the tissues,
the general health, and finally, the condition of the skin. The day of “The
Great Competition”, Saturday, September 14, 1901, had been publicized in
notices which appeared throughout London. A large building which had been
constructed as a memorial to Queen Victoria’s late husband was chosen for
the contest site. In spite of the size of the venue, the building was not
able to contain the crowds which had flocked to witness this spectacle.
Though the seating capacity of this enormous hall was 15,000, hundreds of
eager spectators had to be turned away at the door.
As the show began promptly at 8:00pm, Sandow treated
the crowd to a masterfully orchestrated series of music and athletic events.
From gymnastics to wrestling and sheer acts of strength, Sandow wanted to
ensure that no one would be disappointed. Finally, the band played a
composition by Sandow himself titled “March of the Athletes”, during which
60 well developed men took the stage. Regional dignitaries had been selected
to act as judges for the event, among which was Sir Author Conan Doyle, the
creator of Sherlock Holmes. After carefully inspecting the ranks of well
muscled contenders, 12 finalists were chosen, the winner of which would not
be chosen until after an intermission and a performance by Sandow for which
he was rewarded a 5 minute ovation. With the final judging, each of the
remaining 12 men stood on a pedestal while performing a series of compulsory
poses specifically designed to display the various muscle groups. It was
said that Sandow “fairly went on his hands and knees to examine the neither
limbs of men” (Sandow Museum.com).
After several anxious minuets, three
winners were selected. Bronze and silver medals were awarded to the third
and second place winners and finally, as the band played “See the Conquering
Hero”, William L. Murray was award the golden Sandow statue as the best
developed man in Great Britain and Ireland. All proceeds from the event were
donated to the “Mansion House Transvaal War Relief Fund” (Sandow Museum.com),
and the sport of bodybuilding had been born.
