Lithography is an ingenious printing process which involves a flat plate, usually made of limestone, where the surface has been treated with hydrophobic and hydrophilic chemicals so that when ink is applied to the plate it doesn't stick to the hydrophobic regions and moves to the hydrophilic regions. The plate is then pressed against paper to leave a print of an image. The above method would of course produce a monochrome image, though during the 1890s color lithography was becoming increasingly popular with French artists using multiple plates, one of each color, and then printing one color at a time onto the paper. The main problem with this method was trying to keep each of the plates perfectly aligned. If they weren't, the colors wouldn't be in register. Before then it was common for the Lithographs to be hand tinted like the ones below. Printing of erotic images was at a peak in France from the 1800s to the early 1900s when they were very popular with tourists and sold as postcards, though very few of these "postcards" could actually be sent through the postal service due to stricter regulations of pornography. In fact, many of the images produced were illegal at the time and thus the majority of erotic lithographs are by unknown artist. Twelve new erotic lithographs have been added to ErotiCart!
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27th July 2009  Gustave Courbet is best known as an innovator in Realism (and credited with coining the term), Courbet was a painter of figurative compositions, landscapes and seascapes. He was from a time when the Romantics were in their prime like William Bouguereau who were painting in a highly finished style depicting beautiful mythological scenes. Courbet, however, was not a Romantic. Courbet, being a rebel at heart, portrayed reality in his paintings which brought him much criticism from the Romantics. In the 1860's Courbet was more interested in the erotic elements of art than the political ones that were prevalent in his work. His paintings became increasingly daring, each painting slightly more extreme than its predecessor, culminating in the famous (and most beautiful) "L'Origine du Monde" ("The Origin of the World") which depicts the feminine genitalia in all its glory. As always in the case of erotic works, in spite of causing a furore and being banned from public display, this never did anything to diminish their great popularity...privately. The Courbet section of ErotiCart has already been established, though today we are adding two new paintings; "Woman with Parrot (2)" and "Baccante"
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25th July 2009  Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) was a French sculptor most famous for his iconic masterpiece "The Thinker."Unlike sculptors before him, he did not stick to the conventions of the past which had traditionally portrayed mythological scenes or icons. He was from a similar period in time as Gustave Courbet, who is said to be the father of realism. Though it is uncertain whether Courbet influenced Rodin, it seems coincidence that many of Rodin's sculptures also portrayed realism which he was criticized for during most of his life. Most are familiar with his sculptures though he worked in many mediums. He also painted in oils and in watercolours. The Musée Rodin holds 7,000 of his drawings and prints, in chalk and charcoal, and thirteen vigorous drypoints. His paintings/drawings remind me of the style of a later artist Egon Schiele though his lines are looser with an Art Nouveau feel to them.  Again, like Courbet, the subject of many of his paintings was in-your-face nudity and eroticism. Courbet's most famous painting "The Origin of the World" (shown below) has a very similar feel to many of Rodin's works of art (shown above) where the genitalia take center stage.  Prints of his erotic paintings are now available from ErotiCart.  |
 The Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting, and possibly to the most famous painting in the world.From New York to New Delhi, everyone knows her face and the enigmatic smile. For centuries we gazed at that smile and imagined ourselves in her shoes (if she was wearing any) in an attempt to decipher the purpose behind it. Many have described it as a "knowing smile." A smile that says "I know something you don't know!" Well perhaps it is? Perhaps if were able to take a few steps back, we would understand what it is that she is smiling about. In a private gallery hidden by deep forests in the middle of Yorkshire, England, hangs perhaps one of the most astounding paintings I have ever seen. No, it isn't the Mona Lisa, but your close. It's called "When Mona Came to Tea" by Anthony Christian.  This colossal painting is over 6 feet tall and its impact is beyond words. Captured is, in fact, three paintings by the Leonardo; "Mona Lisa", "Leda and the Swan", and "The Virgin and Child with St Anne". Anthony Christian is described as "the world's foremost Renaissance style artist" and his name has been known since the 1950s when he was accepted to study at London's National Gallery at only 10 years of age. To this day, no other artist has been granted this honour under the age of 18. 50 years later, Anthony Christian is still painting though rarely offers his art for sale . "When Mona Came to Tea" is no exception. The painting above is from one of his private collections known as the "LillyEgg Collection" though the artist has kindly granted permission for prints to be distributed by ErotiCart. "The world's foremost Renaissance style artist" appears to have progressed to being the world's foremost erotic artist as well and we look forward to seeing what more is revealed from his private collections in the future!  |
So welcome to our Erotic Art Blog! With all the updates going on with ErotiCart I thought it might be worthwhile starting a blog primarily to keep everyone updated on the new additions though I'm sure it will many uses in the years to come! So once again, welcome and I hope you enjoy it!  |
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