Martin Van Maele : A man of Erotic Literature

Martin Van Maele was born in 1863 in France and was renowned for his work in the field of Erotic Literature.

Little is known about this elusive character and if it wasn't for the generous bounty of work in the Erotic genre we may have never have heard of him. His legacy could have lay in the cobwebs of some tired old Library, Alas, this is not the case.

Some believe this talented, shy, unassuming Gentleman studied under one of my favorite Illustrators, Félicien Rops. Polar opposites in terms of character and although I can't say for sure that Maele was Rops' apprentice there are some similarities between their work.

The colour, shading and detail from the illustration above has a strong Rops "feel" for me, not to mention the content. Rops made no excuses when it came to his demonic depictions and Maele seems to have tested this  realm himself as seen below. (Notice the tail and hooves of the "man" entertaining his guest.)

His imagination covered the ink-filled pages of his dim workstations of Paris and Brussels and he made his name as one of the Illustrators of his day which could have been helped along by his association with Rops.

Maele sometimes used the pseudonym of A. Van Troizem to protect his parents (incidently, his Father was an engraver) as most artists of their time did. This was a normal undertaking for artistic individuals who had a.....talent, for the more risque side of the illustrative art.

The French Illustrator died on September 5th 1926 aged 62 and his art from that year on became more sought after with every passing decade.

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