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.

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)

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

1. Édouard-Henri Avril
2. Édouard-Henri Avril
3. ^ a b Tom Cutler (18 October 2012). Slap and Tickle: The Unusual History of Sex and the People Who Have it. Little, Brown Book Group. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-78033-836-1.
4. ^ Joseph A. Boone (18 March 2014). The Homoerotics of Orientalism. Columbia University Press. pp. 401–402. ISBN 978-0-231-15110-8.
5. Nicht zu verwechseln mit seinem älteren Bruder Paul-Victor Avril (1843–1904), der ebenfalls als Illustrator tätig war, siehe Normdateneintrag GND 134138791.
6. « https://archives.yvelines.fr/rechercher/archives-en-ligne/correspondances-du-musee-departemental-maurice-denis/correspondances-du-musee-maurice-denis », sous le nom AVRIL Paul (consulté le 12 février 2022)
7. a et b Le XIXe siècle, 22 juin 1882, p. 2 — sur Retronews.
8. Paris-Hachette, 1er janvier 1907, p. 749 — sur Retronews.
9. Portrait et dessin, in: Le Temps, Paris, supplément du 20 décembre 1900, vue 12 — sur Gallica.
10. Édouard-Henri a utilisé le premier prénom de son frère Paul Victor Avril (1843-1915) pour illustrer les ouvrages dits galants ; voir Avril, Paul sur le catalogue général de la BnF.
11. 3,0 3,1 (Γαλλικά) Βάση δεδομένων Léonore. Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού της Γαλλίας. LH//82/7. Ανακτήθηκε στις 9  Οκτωβρίου 2017.
12. (Γαλλικά) Βάση δεδομένων Léonore. Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού της Γαλλίας.
13. 5,0 5,1 . «theculturetrip.com/europe/france/articles/douard-henri-avril-the-master-of-19th-century-pornography/».