Frans DE GEETERE (1895-1968). Spasmes, circa 1935. Italian-s - Lot 292

Frans DE GEETERE (1895-1968). Spasmes, circa 1935. Italian-style in-4 portfolio, half-basin with corners titled in gold, containing 2 ff. and 12 heliogravure plates, 25 x 32.5 cm, each accompanied by a titled serpentine. One serpentine is missing. Limited edition of 100 copies. One of 90 copies on Rives vellum. According to Dutel, the author's argument is worth quoting: "I do not hope to seduce lovers of libertine prints with the plates in this collection. This is not their usual delight. There is nothing in these etchings of the sauciness that perhaps serves to excite them. There's none of the sweet lovemaking dear to the idealists of pornography, none of the white and pink mignardises collected by well-bred onanists, none of those organs so carefully washed in bidet water that you'd think they were made of porcelain. The love I've depicted is not so distinguished. I've left desire to its anxieties, its violence and its spasms, because that's undoubtedly where its true poetry lies. I would be remiss if I tried to please people who imagine love as sexual kindness, and its representation as the sign of a meeting house." Provenance: ex-lris M. L. Bibliography: Dutel 2450.