Even sold underground, erotic literature was popular in Europe during the 19th century. To make things even more “interesting”, erotic writers worked together with graphic artists to illustrate their novels. Édouard-Henri Avril has born in France and became one of the most proeminent erotic painters of his time.
Using the pseudonym Paul Avril, his major work was designs for De Figuris Veneris: A Manual of Classical Erotica, a an anthology of ancient Greek Roman erotic writings. Also, Avril illustrated such works as Gustave Flaubert’s Salammbô, Gautier’s Le Roi Caundale, Jean Baptiste Louvet de Couvray’s Adventures of the Chevalier de Faublas, Mario Uchard’s Mon Oncle Barbassou and the lesbian novel Gamiani.
Avril died at Le Raincy in 1928, embodying the imagination of erotic readers in the 19th century and leaving us his legacy.
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