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Erotica #1
Erotica: An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art and Literature
With over 100,000 copies in print of the previous edition, this illustrated anthology presents a collection of the very best examples of sexual art and literature spanning two thousand years: from classical Rome and the ancient East to the novels of D. H. Lawrence and Henry Miller. Artworks from Aubrey Beardsley, Henry Fuseli, Gustav Klimt, Thomas Rowlandson, and many others are juxtaposed with literary pieces from such names as C. P. Cavafy, Frank Harris, John Cleland, Anais Nin, Boccaccio, Christina Rossetti, Oscar Wilde, and Casanova.
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 30, 2009
This book was/is worth every penny. The best parts of the book were:
1) the blend/presentation of pieces of erotic art, alongside excerpts of the finest literary erotica in the history of publishing/the written word
2) the scope of the selected works (which span over 2000 years of both Eastern and Western cultures)
I have a few other erotic anthologies (which are mostly either art, or text-focused), and this is the one that I repeatedly recall, and/or go back to. It's an excellent resource book (if you're wondering which "great erotic author to check out next"), and there have been several times where I can attribute first seeing/knowing about a particular piece of sexual art ["a Chinese nineteenth-century rosewood toilet box (with eleven concealed miniatures)", "Coloured wood-cuts by Utamaro", "charcoal drawings by the artist known as 'AL'"!!:], to this book.
All of the paintings are erotic/sensual, as opposed to pornographic/degrading (with regards to both sexes in all sorts of sexual positions/situations -- I think it's best to see the paintings rather than describe them in detail here).
The book is exactly what its subtitle says: "An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art and Literature". I may have added the adjective "Fine", before "Sexual Art and Literature", if I were the editor/copy editor of this anthology. I'd even have considered calling it "The Definitive" anthology/edition (...of Sexual Art & Literature). I mean, there are books II and III in this "immensely popular series" (description taken from the product description of Erotica III: An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art and Literature), which feature visuals and prose that stimulate and amuse. The authors/editors have exquisite taste, which shows in the selections they have included in this first anthology. I'll be checking out the two other books in this series, asap.
1) the blend/presentation of pieces of erotic art, alongside excerpts of the finest literary erotica in the history of publishing/the written word
2) the scope of the selected works (which span over 2000 years of both Eastern and Western cultures)
I have a few other erotic anthologies (which are mostly either art, or text-focused), and this is the one that I repeatedly recall, and/or go back to. It's an excellent resource book (if you're wondering which "great erotic author to check out next"), and there have been several times where I can attribute first seeing/knowing about a particular piece of sexual art ["a Chinese nineteenth-century rosewood toilet box (with eleven concealed miniatures)", "Coloured wood-cuts by Utamaro", "charcoal drawings by the artist known as 'AL'"!!:], to this book.
All of the paintings are erotic/sensual, as opposed to pornographic/degrading (with regards to both sexes in all sorts of sexual positions/situations -- I think it's best to see the paintings rather than describe them in detail here).
The book is exactly what its subtitle says: "An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art and Literature". I may have added the adjective "Fine", before "Sexual Art and Literature", if I were the editor/copy editor of this anthology. I'd even have considered calling it "The Definitive" anthology/edition (...of Sexual Art & Literature). I mean, there are books II and III in this "immensely popular series" (description taken from the product description of Erotica III: An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art and Literature), which feature visuals and prose that stimulate and amuse. The authors/editors have exquisite taste, which shows in the selections they have included in this first anthology. I'll be checking out the two other books in this series, asap.
August 26, 2014
This collection felt really scattered to me, but it's a nice attempt at collecting erotica as an art form and not just for titillation.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews