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Virtu Art Books

Erotic Art, Sexuality and Art

Sex: The Erotic Review
An exploration of sex and sexuality. It consists of a selection of thematic articles, ranging from 2500 words down to 250, written by "Erotic Review" contributors and a few major international writers such as Norman Mailer and Camille Paglia. The articles cover a range of topics, from the snake in Eden to cybersex and Lara Croft, drawing on themes from aphrodisiac to fetishism, and relationships to prostitution. It is illustrated from the archives of the Erotic Print Society. Other contributors include Clive James, India Knight, Jonathon Green, Michael Bywater and Simon Raven

Eroticism in Pompeii
Hardcover
Publisher:
J. Paul Getty Trust Publications

Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art, 100 B.C.-A.D.250
This volume is a study of erotic art and sexuality which sets these works in their ancient context and defines the differences between modern and ancient concepts of sexuality using clear visual evidence. Roman artists pictured a great range of human sexual activities - far beyond those mentioned in classical literature - including sex between men and women, men and men, women and women, men and boys, threesomes, foursomes and more. Roman citizens paid artists to decorate expensive objects, such as silver and cameo glass, with scenes of lovemaking. Erotic works were created for and sold to a broad range of consumers, from the elite to the very poor, during a period spanning the first century B.C. through the mid-third century of our era.

Eastern Erotica: Chinese, Indian, and Japanese Eroticism in Art and Literature
Acknowledging that there are many similarities between the Chinese, Indian, and Japanese approaches to love and erotica, this book examines the recurring topics that appear in the erotic literature and art of the East: the obligation to pleasure the woman, ways to fortify the male's virility, suggestions for variety and daring in sex, and emphasis on the power of love beyond lust. It offers a sophisticated examination of the traditional texts of the Chinese Golden Lotus, the Indian Kama Sutra, and the Japanese Shunga scrolls and extracts the lessons they teach about the sexuality of yin and yang, improving love making, genital size, positions, and problems such as premature ejaculation. This new study presents the essence of the original texts in a clear and sophisticated manner and exquisite full-colour illustrations.

Art Nouveau and the Erotic
The artwork is nicely reproduced even if the captions give their titles in their original languages - a drag for the linguistically-challenged among us. The text is concisely informative without ever running the risk of being involving. One wonders why everyone who writes about Art seems to instantly lose their sense of humour. Presumably, since this book was produced by the V&A, the examples were limited to their collection. It's a nice enough effort but I would have preferred a wider scope to the book - not to mention a companion volume of Art Deco and the Erotic

Egyptian Erotica: The Essence of Ancient Egyptian Erotica in Art and Literature
The art and literature of ancient Egypt are set in erotic works that radiate a rare charm and beauty. They attest to the practice that during the period of dynastic rule in Egypt, when the pharaohs were the rulers of Egypt and were considered to be gods, orgies took place in their palaces. However, Papyri inscribed with erotica were destroyed and only a small number of fragments survived. The same is true for sculptures and etchings

Erotic Ambiguities: The Female Nude in Art
Art is always ambiguous. When it involves the female body it can also be erotic. Erotic Ambiguities is a study of how women artists working over the past thirty years have reconceptualised the figure of the female nude. Helen McDonald discusses the work of a wide range of women artists, including Barbara Kruger, Judy Chicago, Mary Duffy, Zoe Leonard, Tracey Moffat, Pat Barrington and Sally Smart, to show how artists have employed the idea of ambiguity to dismantle the classical ideal enshrined in the figure of the nude, and how they have broadened the scope of this ideal to include differences of race, ethnicity, sexuality and disability as well as gender

Sex and the Floating World: Erotic Images in Japan, 1700-1820
This text offers an assessment of the genre of Japanese paintings and prints today known as shunga. Changes in Japanese law have at last enabled erotic images to be published without fear of prosecution, and many books have since appeared in Japan. In this book, the author aims to situate the imagery within the contexts of sexuality, gender or power. Questions of aesthetics and of whether shunga deserve a place in the official history of Japanese art, have dominated and the question of the use of the images has been avoided. Screech seeks to re-establish shunga in its proper historical contexts of culture and creativity

The Mammoth Book of Erotic Photography (Mammoth)
This stunningly produced volume of black-and-white photographic art brings together 80 leading photographers from the US, UK and Europe who have made a name in nude and erotic work. As their exciting but and imaginative images reveal, the medium of black-and-white ideally lends itself to erotic photography. Each contributor offers a six page display of their work, together with a brief biographical vignette. Among the acclaimed international photographers featured in this book are: RC Horsch; Bob Carlos Clarke; Michelle Serchuk; Roy Stuart; Annie Strinkle; Trevor Watson; Maurizio Maon; Wolfgang Eichler; The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Erotica is the first of a new line of illustrated Mammoths. Building on the success of text-only Mammoth erotica volumes, amazingly this book offers masses of high quality photographs at an affordable price

Picasso: Art Can Only Be Erotic
With mesmerising colour and an appealing design, this chronologically arranged volume follows Picasso’s artistic development as expressed in more than ninety erotically charged works. Exquisitely reproduced paintings and etchings such as Salomé Dancing Nude in Front of Herod, Demoiselles d’Avignon, and the famous Pisseuse are displayed alongside fragments from Picasso’s love letters and his revealing observations about the role of sensuality in his life. Diana Widmaier Picasso comments on her grandfather’s amorous adventures, offering intimate revelations and insights that transform this beautiful book into a personal reflection of one man’s consuming passion

Fetish: Masterpieces of Erotic Fantasy Photography
What sets this book apart from others of the genre is that it highlights the best from a wide variety of photographers. The range goes from Derek Ridgers who has had a run of photos in Loaded, to established fetish stalwarts like Eric Kroll and Trevor Watson

Shunga: The Erotic Art of Japan
Paperback
Publisher:
Unverse Publishing
(Incorporated, Div. of Rizzoli)

Exquisite Mayhem: The Spectacular and Erotic Photography of Theo Ehret (Taschen's Photobooks)
Professional wrestling is currently one of the most popular forms of entertainment in America. - In the early Seventies, Ehret began to stage and photograph female wrestling scenarios in his studio. This erotic photographic genre has come to be known as 'apartment wrestling'. - Shot on sets with controlled lighting, his photographs have a sense of uncanny drama absent from previous examples of the 'cat fighting' fetish style. - This book is the first to present, to a mass audience, the golden age of pro wrestling and its illegitimate sibling: apartment wrestling. - By bringing together, for the first time, these two separate bodies of Theo Ehret's work, 'Exquisite Mayhem' presents the roots of today's overtly eroticized theatrical world of pro wrestling

Japanese Erotic Prints: Shunga by Harunobu and Koryusai
This publication offers the reader a collection of erotic prints by the first full-colour woodblock print masters: Harunobu and Koryusai. The prints, made in a period when shunga were signed by the artist, were kept in albums, which explains their excellent condition. These albums also included a foreword by the publisher. The catalogue of 60 prints together with an additional 20 to 30 variant editions, is preceded by a general introduction focusing on subjects like iconography, signatures, censorship and so forth

The Best of Tony Ward Erotica
The Best of Tony Ward is an erotic-aesthetic trip into the fascinating world of the renowned photographer. It's a journey characterised by excitement, Eros, sex and decadence. This publication presents the finest of Tony Ward's exceptional work in full, with his widely known series in combination with a good number of images that have not been shown before, featuring attractive, self-confident women and couples, who are always presented giving vent to their desires and emancipated sexuality.

Icons of Erotic Art
This intimate, exquisitely produced collection of two millennia of erotic art takes a fresh look at the genre, offering provocative insights into what distinguishes the merely titillating from the masterful. Beyond matters of personal taste, the best erotic art sets up a dramatic tension between a sense of pleasure and a sense of place. Icons of Erotic Art brings together 150 sublime examples of this dynamic, covering nearly every major period on art history: ancient, Renaissance, and Rococo paintings; treasures from India, Japan, and China; Impressionist and Modernist masterpieces; even caricature, cartoons, and Pop Art. These works are given close consideration, enhanced by details and compelling text. The result is a dazzling display of artistic eroticism and a new understanding of how its power transcends time and temperament

Images of Lust: Sexual Carvings on Medieval Churches
From the famous sheela-na-gigs, through all the forms of exhibitionists - mermaids, centaurs, misers and priapic figures - extraordinary sculptures considered "obscene" by today's standards may be found on churches in Britain, Ireland, France and Spain. This book examines their origins and purposes and sees them not as sacrilegious figures, or magical fertility symbols, nor even as idols of ancient pre-Christian religions, but as serious works that dealt with the sexual customs and salvation of medival folk, and thus gave support to the Church's moral teachings.