Joseph Apoux’s “The Erotic Alphabet of 1888” (or the original title “Alphabet pornographique”) is a fascinating series of artworks in which each letter of the alphabet is represented by a unique erotic depiction. The bourgeoning exploration of sexuality, eroticism and Victorian sensibilities all merge in this late 19th century series of artworks. The “Erotic Alphabet” is fascinating on so many different levels; firstly it is a daring, provocative and scandalous series of artworks, especially for the context of the late nineteenth century but also today, secondly because it exemplifies the complex relationship between artistic expression, sensuality and moral restraint, and lastly because it uses something educational such as alphabet and infuses it with eroticism. Something as polite as an alphabet becomes naughty in Apoux’s imagination. Joseph Apoux was a painter, illustrator and a printmaker who was born in 1846 and died in 1910, but little is known about his life otherwise.
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Taboo Publication
The nineteenth century society was deeply invested in maintaining a sense of decorum, modesty and morality, especially when it came to sexual matters. Victorian society was marked by suppression of everything that was natural and primal. Alphabet such as this one would make any decent middle-aged Victorian woman faint and not even the smelling salts would bring her back to normalcy. As is always the case in restricting societies, the very thing that is being supressed will rear its ugly head in nastier, uglier ways. Despite the surface-level morality and cultural conservatism, there was a growing underground market for explicit and sometimes even taboo sexual material, particularly in the area of art, literature and photography. “The Erotic Alphabet” is a wonderful example, a true gem, of such taboo publication.
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Provocative and Humorous
The Erotic Alphabet of 1888 is an intriguing example of how art has been used to challenge cultural norms and confront societal anxieties around sexuality. Through its provocative and humorous approach, it reflects the complexities of Victorian society’s relationship with sexual expression, where eroticism was both repressed and fetishized.
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