Friday 12 October 2012

Frank Papé


Frank Cheyne Papé (1878-1972) was a sort of honorary Kinky Victorian/Edwardian. He contributed to some Golden Age fairytale books, but hit the height of his fame as an illustator in the 1920s when he illustrated the books of James Branch Cabell and Anatole France - yet his style harked back to an earlier era.

There are comparatively few of his illustrations freely available nowadays, as he fell into obscurity and even the details of his life are unclear. But I love his detailed draughtmanship, the way he draws upon non-European dress and styles, and his sense of sensual menace.

And he could be pretty kinky:


Here's a picture of a woman frying up her husbands genitalia and serving them for tea!


But mostly his eroticism is subtler:

From James Branch Cabell's Jurgen


Endpapers from Anatole France's Thais




As I said ... Mostly...
;-)



3 comments:

Nano said...

Janine, yours is the best blog on the net. You are a font of amazing, random and bizarre knowledge (and yes, that is meant to be a compliment!) Wonderful pics.

Janine Ashbless said...

Hahaha - thank you Nano! That is a compliment!

Cora Zane said...

Amazing artwork. <3