1928-07-28

ÉDOUARD-HENRI AVRIL was a French painter and commercial artist who died on this date (b: 1849). Under the pseudonym Paul Avril, he was an illustrator of erotic literature. His career saw collaboration with influential people like Octave Uzanne, Henry Spencer Ashbee and Friedrich Karl Forberg.

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. Avril began his training between 1871 and 1873 with a study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, then he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1874. Only four years later, he exhibited his paintings in many salons in the city. But the starting point of his real career was an order to illustrate the novel Fortunio by Théophile Gautiers. Other engagements followed: from that moment on, Avril repeatedly created works in the genre of so-called “gallant literature”. However, his illustrations are not intended for a mass audience, but rather for a small circle of subscribers who are not deterred by the price of these lovingly crafted special editions. Among his most famous drawings are the illustrations of “Fanny Hill, the wife of Jules Michelets“

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”.  He should not be confused with his brother, who was named Paul-Victor Avril, and was also an artist and worked as an engraver. Was he homosexual? Difficult to say. But Avril studied art in various Paris sex salons and one can imagine that was a very good opportunity for Avril —  someone who exhibited, quite literally, a very focused interest in sex, sexuality and bodies —  to experiment.

Having been commissioned to illustrate Théophile Gautier’s novel Fortunio, he adopted the pseudonym “Paul Avril”. 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, organized by collectors. Erotica of that time received very limited prints and sometimes were limited to only 100 or so copies, or were sold only within exclusive circles of collectors.
 

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. Avril died at Le Raincy, near Paris, in 1928