Pietro Aretino’s Sonetti Lussuriosi (Sonnets luxurieux in French), also known as I Modi or ‘The positions’, are the subject of a Themes and Topics entry which you can find here. It seems surprising that so few modern illustrators have revisited what was for centuries a key erotic text, but Tavy Notton brilliantly revisits Renaissance artist Marcantonio Raimondi’s sixteen classic sexual variants, giving us a powerful sense of how satisfying sex can be for both people involved. And in such a much more powerful, convincing fashion than most illustrated sex manuals!

Pietro Aretino’s sixteen erotic sonnets are included in this edition in both the original Italian and modern French translation.

The full title of this volume is ‘Sonnets luxurieux de Pietro Aretino dit l’Arétin avec accompagnement de gravure au burin d’après la déscription des gravures de Giulio Pippi de Giannuzzi dit Jules Romain’. It was published in a limited numbered edition of 200 copies ‘Aux dépens de quelques amateurs’ (at the expense of a group of amateurs).