Erotica by region
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Erotica is the representation of sexuality or nudity with artistic pretenses and the intent to arouse but without being pornographic, without causing embarrassment if viewed with several people at the same time. These pages feature internal links to erotica stemming from Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia
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European erotica
- European erotica
- Casanova as Italian lover, Don Juan as Spanish lover, Faust as German lover, Byron as English lover, Abelard as French lover
- Belgian erotica, British erotica, Dutch erotica, French erotica, German erotica, Italian erotica, Scandinavian erotica
One striking aspect of pre-industrial European erotic literature is the preponderance of female characters. Two early 17th century French works, L'École des filles and L’Academie des Dames, were written as female dialogues — a literary device that was to be repeated many times over the next century in works such as John Cleland’s Fanny Hill and the Marquis de Sade’s Juliette.
European erotic art
In Europe, starting with the Renaissance, there was a tradition of producing erotica for the amusement of the aristocracy. In the early 16th century, the text I Modi was a woodcut album created by the designer Giulio Romano, the engraver Marcantonio Raimondi and the poet Pietro Aretino. In 1601 Caravaggio painted the "Love Triumphant," for the collection of the Marquis Vincenzo Giustiniani. The latter is reputed to have kept it hidden behind a curtain to show only to his friends, as it was seen as a blatant celebration of sodomy. The tradition is continued by other, more modern painters, such as Fragonard, Courbet, Millet, Balthus, Picasso, Edgar Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Egon Schiele, who served time in jail and had several works destroyed by the authorities for offending turn-of-the-century Austrian mores with his depiction of nude young girls, and so on.
Sex and nudity in European cinema
British erotica
Along with Paris, London in the second half of the 19th century was one of the first modern, urbanized societies with a literate population. Literacy is one of the prerequisites for the spreading of printed erotica and pornography. Henry Spencer Ashbee's bibliography has proven to be invaluable in documenting this period of erotic fiction.
The quintessential English erotic novel is Fanny Hill, but even Richardson's Pamela and Clarissa provided voyeuristic satisfaction to a new English audience. The development and rise of the novel as new genre, parallels the development of the erotic novel.
Even in the 17th century, when France had the reputation for erotica, and some English erotica consisted of French translations (the famous "whore dialogues") there were local authors of bawdy erotica like John Wilmot.
A special mention must go to the authors of Grub Street.
English erotica has some characteristics of its own, the most notable is that they are believed to be fond of spanking and flagellation. The French even called it Le vice anglais. Theresa Berkeley ran a brothel specializing in these services.
American erotica
North American erotica is erotica from the USA and Canada. It is closely linked to its censorship history. This page currently holds a collection of notes and is closely related to the pages on the Sexual revolution in 1960s America. Eventually this page should be ordered chronologically.
African erotica
Defining erotic art is difficult since perceptions of both what is erotic and what is art fluctuate. A sculpture of a phallus in some African cultures may be considered a traditional symbol of potency though not overtly erotic.
Influences on modern striptease include the dances of the Ghawazee "discovered" and seized upon by French colonists in nineteenth century North Africa and Egypt.
Asian erotica
Middle East
