Tuesday 30 October 2012

Franz Von Bayros - The Illustrator

Franz Von Bayros was an Austrian illustrator and commercial artist, born in Zagreb in 1866. He had a very colourful career which started at the age of 17 with his entry into Vienna Academy.


Von Bayros had a number of artistic interests in the Erotica field including phantasmagoric imagery, Lesbienism, Masturbation (with instruments) - some of these art subjects I may return to at a later date. This post however I would like to introduce his art intrest.........Beastiality.


Even today this subject is enough to make one plead ignorance to the existence of such a practise, probably because of the historical religious rules within many religions. However it can't go unnoticed with the field of art even if it is not as blatantly obvious in other forms of art of the day.


Beastiality has long been contained within Folklore, Myth and Legend as with the Greek Myth of "Leda and the Swan" and it was even accepted in some ancient cultures. It must be stated that Beastiality  is illegal in most countries and condoned in none (that are known to me) and Artists like Franz used the issue for shock or artistic interpretation.


Animals have been a very important part of storytelling since man could represent themselves on cave walls and on to Mythology where the Gods often appeared (and seduced earthly women) as various animals. Artists, like Von Bayros, often called upon these legendary fables as insperation and also as a hidden meaning.


Some Art is just, well, Beastiality in it's rawest form and Franz was not afraid to hold back.


Known as the first ever fetish Artist, Von Bayros was a fan of another renowned erotic Artist, Aubrey Beardsley (subject of a future post so please check back) and wanted to follow in Aubrey's Art Nouveau footsteps.


Franz was so controversial, he was extradited from Germany back to his adopted homeland of Vienna, Austria. Von Bayros finally parted this planet from a cerebral hemorrhage on April 3rd 1924.

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