Folies D'Amour : More Erotic Memoirs Of Paris In The 1920S

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In the interest of exploring art and social history in twentieth-century erotica, let us descend into the fabulous, scandalous, and enticing digital collection of L’Enfer de la Bibliothèque nationale de France. Erotic Courtesan Fantasy

The first known example of British ‘cheesecake’ top ends The Pleasure Principle, a new collection on BFI Player exploring the history of British film erotica. Appropriately shot on a Kinetoscope or ‘peepshow’ camera, the Brighton-based pioneer Esme Collins’ A Victorian Lady at Her Boudoir (1896) is, in effect, a three-minute long stripshow in which the leading lady stops short in her shift, appears confused by the camera and tousles her hair by way of a wink to the audience.But not everyone approved of the fashions and fads of these newly liberated young women. To many Americans, petting parties epitomized everything that was evil about the Jazz Age. These parties took on different forms, but they all had the same goal: physical pleasure. Bluefit the stereotype of the 1920s flapper to a T, chasing a lifestyle that would have been unthinkable just 20 years before. She drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, and dabbled in bohemianism. She cut her hair short, wore dresses that showed off her fashionably slender figure, used daring slang and dated multiple men before marriage. In the twentieth century, erotic art became more adventurous, not only in what it depicted, but in the art forms used. A variety of twentieth-century art and design movements, from abstract expressionism to art deco to pop art to surrealism, are illustrated in the books of Enfer. Additionally, erotic literature changed with the times. Some of the works still offered social commentary and criticism, but there were just as many texts dealing with love, sexual desires, fetishes, and outright pornography. Georges Hugnet (11 July 1906 – 26 June 1974) was a French graphic artist. He was also active as a poet, writer, art historian, bookbinding designer, critic and film director. According to one source, Hugnet’s early rebelliousness eventually developed into a combative, stubborn nature causing quarrels with publishers, other artists, poets, friends, and family throughout his life. In the 1940s, Hugnet was part of the French Resistance in German-occupied France. In 1943, Hugnet collaborated with Spanish surrealist Óscar Domínguez to create Le feu au cul, a term generally used with someone who is on the lookout for sexual liaison opportunities. The book of art and poetry was published secretly during the wartime occupation. Hugnet’s erotic poetry was well paired with Dominguez’s overtly sexual artwork, which, “ demonstrated an unceasing preoccupation with the subconscious, with automatism and with unfettered spontaneity.” Argentine-Italian surrealist painter Leonor Fini was invited to illustrate La Galère and created six etchings depicting explicit sexual activities between men. Finding homosexual erotica can be challenging given past social attitudes toward homosexuality. In 1956, Genet was given a fine and a suspended prison sentence for publishing the illustrated editions of La Galère and Querelle de Brest, both of which were considered “in contempt of morality”. Finding a work that artistically depicts gay intimacy, especially illustrated by a female artist, is something of a rarity.

His drawings for Paris-Éros featured a combination of pencil and watercolour washes, depicting women and men in elegant attire and seductive poses. Aside from the titillating qualities of some of the illustrations, it is interesting to see the fashions of the period depicted. One such illustration shows two fashionably dressed ladies likely wearing corsets that gave their figures the wasp-waisted look that was in vogue. Dumont, Auguste. Paris-Éros Première série Les maquerelles inédites / Martial d’Estoc / dessins de Gaston Noury. Illustrated by Gaston Noury, Le Courrier littéraire de la presse, 1903. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Surrealism was a cultural movement which developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I and was largely influenced by Dadaism. According to André Breton, surrealism utilised art and literature to “resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality”, or “surreality”. Surrealist artists and writers frequently employed free association, dream analysis, and the unconscious mind to create their works. Surrealism was a philosophical movement, but also a revolutionary movement most commonly associated with communism and anarchism. From the 1920’s onward, Paris was a centre of the surrealist movement, so it is no surprise to see a number of works in Enfer written and illustrated in surrealist style.Not all petting parties were intentional affairs; some broke out spontaneously in dance halls, cars or secluded places. And to some, the very thought of a party devoted to sex—even a relatively chaste version—was cause for outrage. Leonor Fini was an Argentine-Italian painter who spent much of her artistic career in France. Associated with the Surrealist movement, Fini’s self-portraits and mythological paintings focused on eroticism and dreams. “ Paintings, like dreams, have a life of their own and I have always painted very much the way I dream,” she once said. Genet, Jean. La galère/de Jean Genet.; [Eaux-fortes de Leonor Fini.]. Illustrated by Leonor Fini, Jacques Loyau, 1947. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, It was between the acts put on in Soho’s strip clubs that the short uncertified films Goodnight with Sabrina (1958) and Burlesque Queen (1961) would have been exhibited. With tassels twirling, over-elaborate dance steps and bodies swathed in voluminous gauze, these 8mm shorts are caught in time, oddly prim in routines that could have been choreographed by the Women’s Institute.

But the reality wasn’t as simple—or as scandalous—as it seemed. Flappers’ reputations were made worse by petting, but the practice also reflected traditional values by avoiding premarital sex. In a day when a woman’s reputation could still be irreparably damaged by divorce or an illegitimate child, petting let flappers thumb their nose at the convention while still protecting themselves against the repercussions of sex. Right: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/GDAAIR446444339/AHSI?u=omni&sid=AHSI&xid=9376408d&pg=45 The Novel de FlagellationRight: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/GEILBK698847083/AHSI?u=omni&sid=AHSI&xid=eafc0675&pg=31 Delve into the fascinating lives and histories of the authors and artists in Enfer Traditional girls cared about getting married and raising kids; flappers wanted to party instead of settling down. Petting parties only added to this reputation. When The Washington Post published a glossary of the flapper’s philosophy in 1922, it defined life as “One long petting party accompanied by jazz. Future: Heaven only knows what.” Eventually, the practice faded. Their declining popularity can probably be explained by the maturation of flappers and their petting partners—who needs a petting party when you’re already married? (Eve Blue eventually gave up on petting parties after she was nearly raped.) But they also came to an end because the flappers who dared to pet in public helped make open sexual expression more commonplace. The Uncharted Sea, meanwhile, warns young men of the dire consequences that will arise from licentious living, and the price is not left in doubt. “I’ve paid heavily for one night out,” bewails our hero, George. “I’ve lost my job, and now I have gonorrhea.” Much of the hand-wringing about petting parties focused on the supposed immorality of the young woman who attended them. Critics grumbled about flappers’ refusal to engage in traditional courtship and their flippant attitudes toward long-held social conventions.