There is no doubt that Clovis Trouille was an erotic artist in every sense of the work, and this collection of more than fifty (probably half) of all his paintings demonstrates that the erotic permeated much of his critique of contemporary morality. From the cross-dressing cardinal of ‘Remembrance’, via the personal fantasies of his own funeral and burial, to his two (‘hard’ and ‘soft’) versions of the Immaculate Conception, his wit and imagination never fails. The skills of composition and colour clearly complement his work designing shop displays and mannequins, making for a chaotic riot of anarchic social critique, always worthy of close attention to his detail and symbolic allusions.
The paintings shown here are in chronological order where the date of creation is known; several with unknown dates are included at the end. The titles and dates are:
Le palais des merveilles (The Palace of Wonders), 1927–60
Remembrance, 1930–33
La costaude de la Bastoche (The Strongwoman), 1934
Justine, 1937
Les musiciens ou Madame Rosa (Musicians at Madame Rosa’s), 1939
La centauresse (The Centauress), 1940
La momie somnambule (The Sleepwalking Mummy), 1942
Le bateau ivre (The Boat of Drunks), 1942–63
A la cathedrale d’eau du Zambeze (The Watery Cathedral of the Zambezi), 1942–67
Les joueuses de cartes (The Card Players), 1943
Oasis, 1943
Sous le culte des sorcières en flirt (The Cult of Tempting Witches), 1943–68
Dialogue au Carmel (Dialogue at Carmel), 1944
Le magician (The Magician), 1944
Religieuse italienne fumant la cigarette (Italian Nun Smoking a Cigarette), 1944
Mes funerailles (My Funeral), 1945
Voyeur canonisé (Canonised Voyeur), 1945
Bikini, 1946
Oh Calcutta, 1946
Vive le vin, l’amour et le tabac (Long Live Wine, Love and Tobacco), 1946
Le baiser du confesseur (The Confessor’s Kiss), 1947
Mon tombeau (My Grave), 1947–62
La violée du vaisseau fantôme (The Rape of the Ghost Ship), 1948
Le poète rouge: l’agression a l’aide d’un bouledogue
(The Red Poet: Aggression with the Help of a Bulldog), 1949–63
Rêve claustral (Cloister Dream), 1952
Chez la princesse et le tzigane en 1900
(At the Princess and Gypsy’s Place in 1900), 1952–55
Le brame souvenirs (Gravestone Memories), 1953
La grasse matinée (Morning Lie-in), 1955–62
Dolmance et ses fantômes de luxure (Dolmance and his Fantasies of Luxury), 1958
Rêve d’Alice dans une barque (Alice’s Dream on a Boat), 1958
Faites-moi cygnet (Turn Me into a Swan), 1959
Le confessional (The Confessional), 1959
La voyeuse (The Voyeur), 1960
Le rêve vampyr (The Vampire Dream), 1960
Stigma diaboli (Sign of the Devil), 1960
L’heure du sortilège (The Hour of Enchantment), 1960–69
Venus préhistorique (Prehistoric Venus), 1962
La morte en beauté (The Beautiful Death), 1963
La joueuse de tarentelle (The Tarantella Player), 1964
Le présent des Gaules (The Gift of the Gauls), 1969
Cérémonial saphatique (Sapphatic Ceremonial), 1971
Fleurs (Flowers), undated
La danseuse du ventre au bordel (The Belly Dancer at the Brothel), undated
La partouze (The Orgy), undated
La pécheresse a la Cathedrale d’Amiens (The Sinner at Chartres Cathedral), undated
Le bon confesseur (The Good Confessor), undated
L’heure sentimentale (The Sentimental Time), undated
L’immaculée conception (The Immaculate Conception), undated (original)
L’immaculée conception (The Immaculate Conception), undated (censored)
La promesse (The Promise), undated
