Édouard-Henri Avril
gigatos | February 8, 2022
Summary
Édouard-Henri Avril († 1928 in Le Raincy) was a French painter and graphic artist. Under the name Paul Avril he became known as an illustrator of erotic to pornographic novels.
Avril studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1874 and exhibited his paintings in various Paris salons from 1878. When he was commissioned to illustrate Théophile Gautier”s novel Fortunio as heartily as possible, he signed under the pseudonym Paul Avril, which he used from then on for most of his works. He quickly made a name for himself and was constantly commissioned to illustrate the classics as well as the gallant literature of his time. These editions were sold in bibliophilic small editions on a subscription basis to a bourgeois public that did not ask for the price. His painted originals were often etched by his brother Paul-Victor Avril, causing occasional confusion.
Paul Avril has Gustave Flaubert”s Salammbô, Théophile Gautier”s Le Roi Caundale, John Cleland”s Fanny Hill, Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvray”s Adventures of the Chevalier de Faublas, Mario Uchard”s Mon Oncle Barbassou (Reflections on Love in the Harem), Jules Michelet”s The Woman, Hector Frances Musk, Hashish and Blood, the Sonetti lussuriosi of Pietro Aretino, and the lesbian novel Gamiani, said to have several fathers, illustrated. The drawings for De Figuris Veneris by the German scholar Friedrich Karl Forberg are considered his main work. Among Avril”s works not intended for children are the illustrations for some books by Octave Uzanne, including his reflections on the lady”s glove and the muff.
Also read, biographies – Licinius
Illustrations for Fanny Hill (selection)
Erstmals erschienen in: John Cleland: Memoirs of Fanny Hill. Fully translated from the English by Isidore Liseux. Reprinted verbatim from the Paris edition, 1887. Paris: 1906 (Charles Hirsch)
Also read, biographies – Rosa Luxemburg
Illustrations for De Figuris Veneris (selection)
Erstmals erschienen in: Friedrich Karl Forberg: De Figuris Veneris. Manual of classical erotology Literally translated from Latin by Isidore Liseux. Drawings by Paul Avril engraved by Théophile Fillon. Paris: Charles Hirsch 1906.
Sources
