Édouard-Henri Avril

Édouard-Henri Avril (Algeri, 21 maggio 1849 – Le Raincy, 28 luglio 1928) è stato un pittore e illustratore francese. Con lo pseudonimo di Paul Avril, fu un illustratore di letteratura erotica.

Biografia

Avril studiò l'arte in vari saloni di Parigi. Dal 1874 al 1878 egli entrò nell'École des Beaux Arts di Parigi. Ricevette l'incarico da parte di Théophile Gautier di illustrare la novella Fortunio, adottando così lo pseudonimo di Paul Avril. Il suo incarico lo rese un artista di grande reputazione e stimolò numerosi commissioni e contratti da parte di autori importanti della letteratura galante del giorno, una forma di erotismo. Questi libri furono scritti tipicamente in piccole edizioni oppure su abbonamento, organizzato dai collezionisti.
Avril illustrò numerosi opere quali il Salammbô di Gustave Flaubert, il Le Roi Caundale di Gautier, il Fanny Hill di John Cleland, le Avventure del Cavaliere de Faublas di Jean Baptiste Louvet de Couvray, il Mon Oncle Barbassou di Mario Uchard, The Madam di Jules Michelet, Musk, Hashish and Blood di Hector France, gli scritti di Pietro Aretino, e le novelle anonime lesbiche del Gamiani. I suoi maggiori lavori sono stati i disegni per De Figuris Veneris: un manuale di classico erotismo dello scolaro tedesco Friedrich Karl Forberg.

Octave Uzanne]: L'Éventail (Eine Kulturgeschichte des Fächers), Paris, Quantin 1882, Cover von Paul Avril

Édouard-Henri Avril (21 May 1849 – 28 July 1928) was a French painter and commercial artist. Under the pseudonym Paul Avril, he was an illustrator of erotic literature. His career saw collaboration with influential people like Octave Uzanne, Henry Spencer Ashbee and Friedrich Karl Forberg.
Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art. He was awarded with the Legion of Honour for his actions in the Franco-Prussian War.

Life

Avril was born in Algiers. His father was a colonel of the gendarmerie. Avril himself fought and was wounded in Franco-Prussian War before starting his studies in art. He was awarded with the Legion of Honour on 31 May 1871 for injuries sustained during the war. The injuries resulted in retirement from his military career on 23 January 1872.
Biographical material of his life is scarce due to the obscene nature of his work, and because he worked under a pseudonym of "Paul Avril". His pseudonym can lead to a confusion with his brother, who was named Paul-Victor Avril, and was also an artist and worked as an engraver. Avril studied art in various Paris salons. From 1874 to 1878 he was at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He worked for the illustrated newsmagazine Le Monde illustré in 1882.
Having been commissioned to illustrate Théophile Gautier's novel Fortunio, he adopted the pseudonym "Paul Avril". His reputation was soon established and he received many commissions to illustrate both major authors and the so-called "galante literature" of the day, a form of erotica. However, his reputation as a commercial illustrator of novels was established before he began illustrating the more underground erotic literature. These books were typically sold in small editions on a subscription basis, organised by collectors. Erotica of that time received very limited prints and sometimes were limited to only 100 or so copies, or were sold only within exclusive circles of collectors. Because of the obscurity of Avril and his works, it is difficult to assess the real impact that his art might have had on culture.
Avril died at Le Raincy in Metropolitan France in 1928.

Works

Avril's major work were the illustrations in 1906 for De Figuris Veneris: A Manual of Classical Erotica. Another important work illustrated by Avril was John Cleland's Fanny Hill (also known as Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure), which was a significant and controversial publication of its time as it was the first novel to bring erotica to English literature. The book's edition illustrated by Avril includes Les charmes de Fanny exposés that is one of his better known pictures. He 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 (scenes in a harem), Jules Michelet's The Madam, Hector France's Musk, Hashish and Blood, the writings of Pietro Aretino, and the anonymous lesbian novel Gamiani.
Classicizing works illustrated by Avril include Oeuvres d’Horace (1887), Une nuit de Cléopâtre (fr) (1894), Daphnis et Chloé (1898), and Les sonnets luxurieux de l’Aretin (1904). Avril might be best known for his sapphic, or lesbian, illustrations.
Prolific erotica collector Henry Spencer Ashbee commissioned Avril to design a bookplate for him. Avril worked with Octave Uzanne, who after leaving the Société des Amis des Livres, which he found too conservative and too concerned with the reissue of old works, started two new bibliographic societies. The Société des Bibliophiles Contemporaines (1889–1894) consisted of 160 people from literary circles, including Avril.

List of works and editions illustrated

L'Éventail (1882)
L'Ombrelle – Le Gant – Le Manchon (1883)
Fortunio (1883)
Adventures of the Chevalier de Faublas (1884)
Mon Oncle Barbassou (Scenes in a Harem) (1884)
Fanny Hill (fr. 1887, eng. 1906)
Oeuvres d’Horace (1887)
The Mirror of the World (1888)
Le Roi Caundale (1893)
Une nuit de Cléopâtre (1894)
The Life and Adventures of Father Silas (1896)
Daphnis et Chloé (1898)
Musk, Hashish and Blood (1899)
Les Sonnets Luxurieux de l’Aretin (1904)
Gamiani (1905)
De Figuris Veneris: A Manual of Classical Erotica (1906)
Salammbô (1906)
Histoire de Saturnin (1908)
The Madam

Illustration from: Memoires de Fanny Hill. Entierement traduits de l'Anglais par I.Liseux. Reimpression textuelle de l'ed. de Paris 1887. Paris 1906.

Édouard-Henri Avril - Kiefer Auktionen

Illustration from: Memoires de Fanny Hill. Entierement traduits de l'Anglais par I.Liseux. Reimpression textuelle de l'ed. de Paris 1887. Paris 1906.

Paul Avril, i piaceri sfrenati dell’artista-soldato dell’Ottocento.

Buon illustratore e pittore, specializzato nel disegno erotico più spinto e blasfemo, anticlericale e probabilmente massone, lettore dei libri proibiti francesi – disegna anche una celebrazione liturgica dedicata all’organo sessuale femminile – Édouard-Henri Avril – detto Paul – si inserisce in quel clima di dissacrazione, attraverso il sesso, dell’esile crosta del mondo delle apparenze, atteggiamento eversivo e sovversivo che, in Francia, aveva contribuito al crollo degli antichi poteri. Ex militare in congedo per gravi ferite, il 23enne deve occupare costruttivamente la propria vita e si dà alla mondanità e al disegno. Era nato il 21 maggio 1849, ad Algeri, figlio di un colonnello della Gendarmeria, Francesco Giuseppe (1795-1857). Édouard-Henri diventa presto ufficiale. E’ nominato tenente nel 51 ° reggimento fanteria di linea e combatte, all’età di 21 anni, nella guerra franco-tedesca del 1870. Rimane ferito; viene insignito della Legion d’Onore il 31 maggio 1871 e si ritira 23 gennaio 1872, a causa delle ferite subite in battaglia.

Così Édouard-Henri (Paul) si dedica allo studio dell’arte. Dal 1874 al 1878 segue il percorso di formazione accademica all’École des Beaux-Arts di Parigi. Successivamente viene contattato per illustrare la nuova edizione della novella Fortunio diThéophile Gautier .
In questa occasione, adotta per la prima volta lo pseudonimo di “Paul Avril”, forse utilizzato per non apparire con il proprio nome ufficiale, rischiando di perdere i benefici della pensione di guerra. Egli viene chiamato poi ad illustrare numerosi libri della cosiddetta letteratura “galante” . Questi libri erano in genere venduti attraverso abbonamento e avevano tirature limitate.

Tra le opere alle quali legò il proprio nome, Salammbô di Gustave Flaubert, Le Roi Caundale di Gautier, Fanny Hill di John Cleland, le Avventure del Cavaliere de Faublas di Jean Baptiste Louvet de Couvray, Mon Oncle Barbassou di Mario Uchard, The Madam di Jules Michelet, Musk, Hashish and Blood di Hector France, i Sonetti erotici di Pietro Aretino ( da cui sono tratte le immagini della pagina, che risultano reinterpretazioni delle incisioni cinquecentesche di Marcantonio Raimondi), e le novelle lesbiche del Gamiani. I suoi maggiori lavori sono stati i disegni per De Figuris Veneris, un Manuale di Classico Erotismo dell’allievo tedesco Friedrich Karl Forberg. Morì a Raincy, non lontano da Parigi, il 28 luglio 1928.

This is an ex libris of Henry Spencer Ashbee (1838-1900), etching circa 1890

Paul Avril

Octave Uzanne: L'Ombrelle - Le Gant - Le Manchon, Paris, Quantin 1883. Cover by Paul Avril (Der Schirm - Der Handschuh - Der Muff)

Octave Uzanne: The Mirror of the World, with one hundred and sixty illustrations by Paul Avril. London: John C. Nimmo, 1889

Illustration II: Mr Croft's attempt to seduce Fanny

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

III. Polly Philips and the young italian

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

Illustration IV from Fanny Hill: Charles plucks Fanny's virgin flower

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

Illustration V :Fanny emboldens William

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

VI. Mr. H... surprises Fanny and William

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

VII. Louisa and the lodger's son

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

Illustration VIII: Fanny's beauties displayed

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

IX. Fanny and the sailor

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

Illustration X : Fanny whips Mr. Barville

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

Illustration XI. The bathing party

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

Illustration XII. Charles and Fanny

Édouard-Henri Avril

1907

Édouard-Henri Avril

De figuris Veneris

Plate IV: "Aloisio then bends over my butt-cheeks, brings the javelin close to the rear gate, he pushes, he strikes, then, with a violent effort, he sticks it in."
Édouard-Henri Avril