What’s new
Seeing the light
26th October 2022
The Israeli artist Samarel takes the techniques of computer-enhanced art to new heights in the exploration of erotic imagination. In his creations bright liquid flashes of colour integrate with naked bodies, reflecting the passion and energy of good sex. See his work now by clicking here.
Naked in the wild
25th October 2022
It’s very sad that naked has become taboo, and glimpses of ‘forbidden’ body parts the province of porn. Today’s new artist, Susannah Martin, puts the joyful, inquisitive naked body back in its natural environment, where it belongs. See her work now by clicking here.
Oh la la
24th October 2022
Joseph Hémard was the best known French book illustrator of the 1920s and 30s, a prolific and talented artist with an eye for visual wit, a keen social and political awareness – and liked drawing women in deshabille. See his colourful pochoir prints now by clicking here.
Dark suburban fantasies
23rd October 2022
In Jans Muskee’s ultrarealistic pastel drawings the neat world of family life in Ikea homes clashes with undercurrents of sexual fantasy and desire. He draws what so many imagine but dare not … See his remarkable work now by clicking here.
The flowers of evil
21st October 2022
The delicate watercolours and drawings of Ukrainian artist Nikolay Tolmachev are simple yet oddly disquieting, often using sexual metaphors to draw attention to the transience of beauty and fragility of sensuality. See his powerful work now by clicking here.
These young doctors …
20th October 2022
Another of those sets of French medical students’ rude songbook illustrations today, this from 1950 and the reclusive artist Raoul-Roger Ballet. Only a bit rude, but quite fun. See them now by clicking here.
Dreaming on
19th October 2022
Continuing our celebration of black history week, we bring you Henry Speller, artist and blues guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee, with his colourful fantasies of unattainable women. See his unmistakable work now by clicking here.
The reality of flesh
18th October 2022
Something very special and a bit different today, the powerful work of the British artist Jenny Saville, whose 1992 painting Propped is the most expensive painting by a living women artist ever sold. Just £9.5 million! Is it erotic? It’s most definitely honest. See her work now by clicking here.
A fine slip of a girl
17th October 2022
It’s always a pleasure to add a new Paul-Émile Bécat portfolio to the site, and so today we bring you his 1959 plates for The Beautiful Alsace Girl, a rollicking eighteenth century romance with just enough naked flesh – click here to see them.
Bawdy or what?
15th October 2022
A colourfully-illustrated collection of bawdy French songs from 1970 for you today; these Chansons de Salles de Garde (Duty-room Songs) have been popular among young (yes, mostly male) hospital interns for many decades. Enjoy them now by clicking 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.