Thank you to All my American and North American Friends

I would like to write this quick post just to thank all my American and North American friends. This blog wouldn't be the same without your kind comments, suggestions and support. I will make an extra effort in the New Year to encompass more American based Erotic artists and writers.
Again......THANK YOU, all my American friends.

Above is a vintage poster used in the Vietnam War.

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

Thank you so much to all my Blogger viewing friends for all your kind comments, words and interesting questions within the year that was 2012.
It makes me so happy to be in contact with so many like-minded individuals and lovers of Vintage Erotica.
To all you Lovely Ladies and Generous Gentlemen.....I THANK YOU!
I can only hope my page is equally successful in 2013, I will do my very best to continue providing information on great Erotic Artists and every now & then I'll drop in a post from my very own collection.
I will hopefully hear from you all in the New Year.
This is a NOT-SO-VINTAGE post LOL. I hope all you die hards don't mind. Chat Soon.

For the Gents........or Ladies!

For the Ladies........or Gents!

For Everyone!!!!

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.

Thanks for reading, Please leave a comment.

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.

Please leave a comment.................

Thomas Eakins - American Photographer, Painter, Sculptor and Teacher.

A great American Art all rounder and arguably one of the most influential artists in American history. And only failing health slowed him down in the end.

His own belief, whilst teaching, was not to inhibit his students and thus encourage the freedom of their own expressions. He used himself as a guide rather than a director when it came to his teachings.
Thomas's own career was a passion for anatomy and movement of the human  form, he conducted numerous studies to these endeavours.

Eakins had an admiration for the female nude, in particular, but was constantly searching for a male that would exude the same presence, beauty, innocence and anatomical perfection. He had such a passion for Anatomy, he considered becoming a surgeon.

Thomas Eakins was a man of great character, strong willed and a great student of life. Generous with his time and carried out his life the way he thought it should go. He was not afraid to study humanity frankly and also not afraid of the results the studies revealed  to him.

Thomas Copperthwaith Eakins passed away on June 25th 1916 in Pennsylvania, at the age of 71. He left his legacy, that at the time was seen vulgar at times, but it was honest and natural.

His main income toward the latter part of his life were portraits, the staple of most Artists of the era.
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I try to keep my posts short and to the point with illustrations/work of the featured Artist, If you feel the information is a little too short and would like more information on the said Artist, please leave me a comment so that I may ensure your infortmational pleasure.

Thank you for reading this post.

Egon Schiele: The 10 year Artist

Egon Schiele, one of the most celebrated Arists of the last 100 years despite his very short lifespan.

Schiele lived in Vienna at a very colourful time in history,  born 12th June 1890 in a train station he was something of a child prodigy drawing from the age of 2. Schiele, in young adulthood, became a firm friend of Gustav Klimt who saw Schiele's talent and organised for models and patrons for the artwork of this young painter.

Egon always considered himself an eternal child which propelled his adolecent view of his sexual erotic paintings. And his honesty of himself and his female nudes ensured his notoriety along with his free spirited view of life.

The police were called to Schiele's studio after one of his legendary parties where erotic sketches were found, that led to the accusation of him seducing a minor and he was jailed pending the investigation. He was never found guilty but that didn't stop officials ripping up and burning some of his erotic drawings.

Tragedy struck Schiele and his family in 1918 when he lost his wife and child to the Spanish Flu virus and he himself died aged 28 only 3 days later.

But Egon Schiele has proven that the time he had on this planet was fruitful and by all accounts the amount of erotic (and other) art he has left for us to enjoy combined with the honest way in which he lived his life. Has shown the  two common denominators of his passion, sex and death, enveloped him to the very end.

It seems unjust that it was as he was becoming recognised for his portraits and artwork, he died, so he never got to enjoy the accalades he so craved. He did leave us however with a body of erotic work which continues to inspire erotic fans today.
Enjoy this.......and my other posts.......and if you have a comment, feel free to share your views.

Gustave Courbet: Father of French 19th Century Realism

Gustav Courbet, 1819-1877. A true individual who famously said he wanted to be remembered when he died with this statement..... "He belonged to no school, no church, no institution, no acadamy. Least of all to any régime other than the régime of Liberty".

Courbet has a huge volume of artistic works from Landscapes to Seascapes, from Portraits to numerous Self-Portraits, Still life, Social depiction. His range and interest was vast and he spearheaded the 19th Century Realism movement. But alas, as fantastic as this might be, my interests lay in one particular area of his expertise and you don't get any prize for guessing which area I refere to.

During the 1860's Gustave embarked on his erotic painting journey and many of his paintings would not be shown in public due to their graphic nature and his fascination with female genitalia. Those paintings that were displayed increased Courbet's notoriety.

This picture above "The Origin of Life" was not publicly displayed untill 1988 and at the time of it's painting in 1866 was subject to a police report.

Gustav in later life lived in exile, in part, because of his disagreements with Napoleon III and his refusal to comply with formalities, even after Napoleon III had offered him the cross of The Legion of Honor. And also  
his unpaid fines to the newly elected president.

Gustav Courbet passed away at the age of 58 on the 31st of December 1877 from liver disease after many years of excessive drinking.
I hope you like this blog, please leave a comment if it interests you! Untill next time...................