Paul Avril

Attribution: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Paul Avril

Biography

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Édouard-Henri Avril (21 May 1849 – 28 July 1928) was a French painter and commercial artist. Under the pseudonym Paul Avril, he was an illustrator of erotic literature.[1]

Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art; he was awarded with the Legion of Honour for his actions in the Franco-Prussian War.[2]

Life

Avril was born in Algiers. His father was a colonel of the gendarmerie. Avril himself fought and was wounded in the Franco-Prussian War before starting his studies in art. He was awarded with the Legion of Honour on 31 May 1871 for injuries sustained during the war, which resulted in retirement from his military career on 23 January 1872.[3]

Biographical material of his life is scarce due to the obscene nature of his work and because he worked under a pseudonym of "Paul Avril".[4] His pseudonym can lead to a confusion with his brother,[1][5] who was named Paul-Victor Avril and was also an artist and worked as an engraver.[5]

Having been commissioned to illustrate Théophile Gautier's novel Fortunio, he adopted the pseudonym "Paul Avril".[7] His reputation was soon established, and he received many commissions to illustrate both major authors and the so-called "galante literature" of the day, a form of erotica. However, his reputation as a commercial illustrator of novels was established before he began illustrating the more underground erotic literature. These books were typically sold in small editions on a subscription basis organised by collectors. Erotica of that time received very limited prints and sometimes were limited to only about 100 copies or were sold only within exclusive circles of collectors.[citation needed]

Because of the perceived obscenity of Avril and his works, it is difficult to assess the impact that his art might have had on the culture of the time.[4]

Avril died at Le Raincy near Paris in 1928.[8]

Works

Avril's major work were the illustrations in 1906 for De Figuris Veneris: A Manual of Classical Erotica. Avril also illustrated John Cleland's Fanny Hill (also known as Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure), which was a significant and controversial publication of its time as it was the first novel to bring erotica to English literature.

The book's edition that Avril illustrated includes Les charmes de Fanny exposés, which is one of his better-known pictures. He illustrated works including Gustave Flaubert's Salammbô, Gautier's Le Roi Caundale,[1][4][9] Jean Baptiste Louvet de Couvray's Adventures of the Chevalier de Faublas, Mario Uchard's Mon Oncle Barbassou (scenes in a harem), Jules Michelet's The Madam, Hector France's Musk, Hashish and Blood, the writings of Pietro Aretino, and the anonymous lesbian novel Gamiani.[3][7]

Classicizing works illustrated by Avril include Oeuvres d’Horace (1887), Une nuit de Cléopâtre (1894), Daphnis et Chloé (1898), and Les sonnets luxurieux de l’Aretin (1904).[10] Avril might be best known for his sapphic illustrations.[11]

Prolific erotica collector Henry Spencer Ashbee commissioned Avril to design a bookplate for him.[10] Avril worked with Octave Uzanne,[11][12] who after, leaving the Société des Amis des Livres which he found too conservative and too concerned with the reissue of old works, started two new bibliographic societies. The Société des Bibliophiles Contemporaines (1889–1894)[13] consisted of 160 people from literary circles, including Avril.[12]

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard-Henri_Avril

Summary

Paul Avril has Sun in Gemini 12th House, Moon in Taurus 11th House, with Cancer Rising.

Rodden Rating

The accuracy of the natal data for this archive is rated as AA
AA
Painter
Artist
Illustrator
Male

Analysis for Paul Avril

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Sabian Symbols

Influenced by Symbolism

60°, Sun in Gemini, Symbolism artwork
SunGemini
45°, Moon in Taurus, Symbolism artwork
MoonTaurus
78°, Mercury in Gemini, Symbolism artwork
MercuryGemini
46°, Venus in Taurus, Symbolism artwork
VenusTaurus
2°, Mars in Aries, Symbolism artwork
MarsAries
135°, Jupiter in Leo, Symbolism artwork
JupiterLeo
5°, Saturn in Aries, Symbolism artwork
SaturnAries
24°, Uranus in Aries, Symbolism artwork
UranusAries
334°, Neptune in Pisces, Symbolism artwork
NeptunePisces
28°, Pluto in Aries, Symbolism artwork
PlutoAries
261°, Chiron in Sagittarius, Symbolism artwork
ChironSagittarius
158°, North Node in Virgo, Symbolism artwork
North NodeVirgo
338°, South Node in Pisces, Symbolism artwork
South NodePisces
254°, Lilith in Sagittarius, Symbolism artwork
LilithSagittarius
92°, Ascendant in Cancer, Symbolism artwork
AscendantCancer
343°, Midheaven in Pisces, Symbolism artwork
MidheavenPisces

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Natal Data

Map at Lat 36.753768, Lng 3.0587561

1849-05-21 07:00:00 LMT

36° 45′ 13.6″ N 3° 3′ 31.5″ E

Algiers [El Djazaïr], Algeria

15212r5f2428e15e17r019r1585r

1x Records. Last Queried Oct 16, 2024 12:14 AM GMT