Secret Libidinous Drawings of the Swiss Illustrator Marcel Vidoudez

20 december 2021

Marcel Vidoudez (1900-1968) was a Swiss illustrator, who lived and worked in his hometown of Canton de Vaud. After his schooling, he trained in fine arts in Lausanne, Dresden and Paris until the beginning of the 1930s. Vidoudez was an eclectic artist who illustrated religious books, books for children (Fig.1), song books, and also drew posters and book covers.

Secret Discovery

His work is characterized by a mastered and accomplished style (precise contours, clear line, sobriety of the decorations, and the subtlety of watercolors. Similar to Hergé's work for the Tintin series. A secret discovery, long after his death, revealed that he had also made a lot of erotic work (more than 400 watercolors).

Fig.1. Mon Premier Livre (My First Book) (1949)

The Secret Garden

This selection of Vidoudez's "secret watercolors" - found in the garret by his daughter Nicole was the subject of a first public presentation at the Humus gallery in 1996 entitled Le Jardin Secret (The Secret Garden). The exhibition was offered in a passageway, where the visitor over 16 years old moved through a forest of lacy laces and luxuriant frills. In the Swiss artistic landscape of the first half of the 20th century, few artists have expressed themselves in the erotic register. Marcel Vidoudez therefore appears as an outcast who flushed out the pleasures of love.

Meticulous Anatomy

In The Secret Garden, Vidoudez was able to give free rein to his inspiration. But however liberated his lustful mood may be, he maintains his graphic style - clear, precise line, meticulous anatomy - while the flesh is subtly illuminated by the color palette of the watercolor.

Fig.2 Marcel Vidoudez, Dessinateur Érotique (2013)

Gambling Den

As a keen observer, he stages these couplings through framing that reveal the interlocking bodies, while situating the action in a tangible setting, taking us to a hotel room, gambling den, a forest or an exotic landscape. Often the children's book illustrator is not completely absent, subtly represented in a corner of a libidinous composition by a calm kitten, or a naughty puppy.

Marcel Vidoudez, dessinateur érotique

A substantial number of Vidoudez' secret production of erotic drawings are collected in the excellent collector book :Marcel Vidoudez, dessinateur érotique, by P.-Y. Lador, N. Vidoudez and M. Froidevaux, Éditions HumuS, 144 pages, Lausanne, 2013 (Fig.2).

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Click HERE for an article on the erotic genius of the French illustrator Albert Dubout....!!

Sources: Our Premium member Bruno kindly provided the images in this article. Dossier de Presse - Mon Premier Fruit - Marcel Vidoudez, Illustrateur (1900-1968).