What’s new
Encounter in the park
19th February 2021
When the Hungarian-born artist Marcel Vertès died in 1961, Alex Székely created this testimonial to his long-time friend and fellow-traveller in the byways of erotic art – and he drew it in Vertès’ own pared-down style. A simple story simply told: see it here. Enjoy!
A wonderfully erotic Tarot pack
18th February 2021
It’s a pity that the only erotic portfolio produced by the Italian illustrator Giacinto Gaudenzi is his 2006 Decameron Tarot, a masterpiece of miniature artistry and well worth close study, as are his thoughts on the skills required to be an illustrator – see his amazing work here.
Elektrowärme-Speicherheizkessel? Ja!
17th February 2021
An intriguing new artist today, highly original erotic artist and designer of the prizewinning Buderus Elektrowärme-Speicherheizkessel – Rolfdieter Schiedrum. See the best collection of his work on the web here, and see if it inspires you!
1920s angst and pleasure
11th February 2021
Today’s new artist is the Hungarian/Austrian (and a dash of French) painter and engraver Rezső Merényi, the author of three rare erotic portfolios, which we now have the pleasure of sharing in their entirety. See them here, and enjoy!
So what’s that dangly bit actually for?
10th February 2021
It seems that German artists after WW1 were having a bit of a sexual identity crisis; if women were gaining power, what did that mean for phallic privilege? The anonymous Pipifax (German for a piddling trifle) had a few rather grotesque ideas – you can see them here.
The best of French spooning
9th February 2021
Do you know the difference between bon couché and con bouché? If you love spoonerisms (and who doesn’t?) you'll appreciate Léon Courbouleix’s Lapsus Linguae (slips of the tongue to you and us) – explore and enjoy this new portfolio here.
Up-market debauchery
8th February 2021
We know very little about the Belgian illustrator Georges Drains, but in 1921 he produced the most exquisite artwork for the Marquis de Sade’s Venice Brothel. New on the site, see the whole portfolio and more here. Enjoy!
Flesh, juice and (possibly) fun
7th February 2021
Another thought-provoking contemporary artist for you today, New York-based Monica Cook, with her viscerally haunting paintings featuring fish and pomegranates, oxygen cylinders and wheelchairs – oh, and naked women. Visit them here and see what you think.
Erotic classics in powerful comic format
5th February 2021
A new artist today for all you lovers of erotic French bandes desinées – Philippe Cavell’s amazing interpretations of Sade’s Juliette and Cleland’s Fanny Hill. See the artwork and learn about the multi-talented artist here. Enjoy!
O Mensch! Gib acht!
4th February 2021
If 1920s flappers wearing nothing but silk stockings is your thing, you’ll love this new artist, Ludwig Lutz Ehrenberger. Heartfelt cry from the artist’s own experience or merely an opportunity to exhibit his lesbian fantasies? Judge for yourself – see his work here.
Important recent updates
✨ Illustrator and portfolio lists
One of the most common requests we get (and the responses to the recent questionnaire confirm this) is that it would be really useful to have complete listings of all the artists and portfolios on the website – as of May 2026 728 artists and 2,003 portfolios!
So we’ve listened and heard … and by following this link you will find files with these listings in alphabetical order (and where there are several portfolios with the same name their artists will be in order too). The lists are in PDF format, so you can download, save and search them. They duplicate what you can already find in the artist and portfolio listings on the website, but if you’re really into erotic art and illustration and would like a quick ready reference, you should find these invaluable. Enjoy!
✨ Helping you to find your way around
You asked for it, we’ve done it – all the artists on the site now have a set of ‘Similar artists’ links at the end of their biography, so whether it’s bookplate artists, spanking artists, gay artists, whatever, you can cruise easily from artist to similar artist. Have fun!
✨ Hans-Jürgen Döpp, 1940–2025
Few people have shared their wisdom, experience – and wonderful collection of erotic art – more than Hans-Jürgen Döpp, who sadly died last year at the age of 84. For more than half a century Hans-Jürgen devoted himself to the study and collection of erotic art, not as a marginal curiosity or a private indulgence, but as an essential part of human culture. Through his work as a scholar, teacher, curator, author and collector, he helped establish erotic art as a serious field of artistic and historical enquiry. He was an enthusiastic supporter of honesterotica, sharing more than 200 of his portfolios with us, helping to make the website a unique resource of erotic art that would otherwise have been lost to the world. Read our tribute to Hans-Jürgen here.
✨ The difficult mirror
Artists, childhood, and the challenge of looking
At a time of growing concern about online child safety, we are very aware of how we handle the sensitive subject of depictions of children in art, especially ‘erotic art’. We have added an important Themes and Topics article here, which helps explore how artists over time have depicted naked children, and why it is as important to think seriously about what art is for and how we look at and experience it as about what is actually being depicted. Read the piece and see what you think.