Sex sells (but is it worth it?)

12th March 2021

Brilliant $12 million avant garde artist or opportunist kitsch charlatan? That's today’s new artist, American John Currin, whose explicit sex paintings you can see here. Look, read, let us know what you think ... looking forward to that.

A little French frisson

11th March 2021

A lot of good intimacy is as much about frisson (a wonderful French word) as it is about full-on sex. Today’s new artist, the Hungarian artist Miklós Vadász, knew the feeling well, and illustrated it in a 1920 portfolio of prints. Now you can see it here. Enjoy the frisson!

Mature musings on la vie erotique

10th March 2021

Who says you don’t think about sex so much when you’re older? Now approaching 90, Lisa Zirner still does! Her remarkable, colourful and mature illustrations for Batailles and Sade are now on the website for you all to be inspired by – see them here. Enjoy!

How to see through clothes

9th March 2021

Have you ever wondered how to draw people clothed and naked at the same time? Let Sylvain Vigny show you how in today’s new portfolio, his 1937 drawings for Georges Faillet’s La danse macabre. Mortality, sex, death – those universal themes, see the whole portfolio here.

A thought-provoking surrealist

8th March 2021

Today’s new artist, Roland Topor, was a truly original genius, using his surrealist imagination to expose the absurdities of social convention. We have just added his 1973 commentary on pornographic imagery, l’Epikon, which you can see here. More Topor soon …

Vertès and Louÿs, a perfect pairing

7th March 2021

Today’s new portfolio is literally unique – the only hand-coloured set of Vertès illustrations for the 1938 edition of Pierre Louÿs’ erotic poetry, which itself was printed in an edition of only 135 copies. A true and precious gem, click here and enjoy its rich delights.

Pondering sex, obsession and death

5th March 2021

Today’s new artist is, despite his name, an important German artist – Eddy Smith. A brilliant engraver, he made this thought-provoking erotic portfolio in 1921, full of detail and symbolism; see it here, look carefully, and wonder what was in his mind.

Sunny days, naked skin

4th March 2021

Some light relief for you all today, as we start to imagine light at the end of the viral tunnel and sunny days on the beach – Images d’Amour, the last colourful portfolio of the great Marcel Vertès. Bask in the warmth; the portfolio is here.

Simple rural pleasures

3rd March 2021

Today’s new artist (and the 200th on the site, what a landmark!) is Georges Kars, and his sketchbook of (imagined?) encounters on the Eastern Front during WW1. See his Huzules Intimes here, and enjoy their simple artistry.

Michel Fingesten, printmaker extraordinaire

2nd March 2021

Michel Fingesten is one of the most original and productive graphic artists and bookplate designers of the mid-twentieth century, and we have just added many of his best and most thought-provoking erotic images, which you can see here. Marvel and enjoy!