Aretino / Doré - Œuvre du Divin Arétin - 1970

EROTICA ILLUSTRATA, ON THE SCANDALOUS TEXTS OF THE ARETINO
Printed edition on chiffon vellum from Lana paper mills. Copy number 270. Illustrated with numerous erotic compositions by Amandine Doré.
Magnificent art edition of Les Ragionamenti by Pietro Aretino, published in Paris by Éditions de l’Ibis in 1970 and illustrated by Amandine Doré, among the most refined interpreters of French bibliophilic erotism of the twentieth century. The work, here complete with the very rare third volume containing suites and free plates, represents one of the most elegant encounters between Renaissance libertine literature and high artistic publishing in the postwar era. The famous conversations between courtesans, nuns and prostitutes conceived by Aretino become, in this form, an object of typographic seduction: Lana paper, sensual engravings, loose plates protected by tissue paper and sumptuous decorative bindings transform the book into a true theatrical machine of desire. The autonomous third volume of erotic plates, often missing, further elevates the collecting interest of the specimen.

MARKET VALUE
Complete three-volume copies with suites and free plates are decidedly rarer than the ordinary edition. On the international market of French erotic bibliophily, complete copies with the autonomous volume of erotic plates, decorative bindings and preserved suites can reach values between 700 and 1,500 euros, with higher peaks for pristine copies or belonging to privileged editions with original watercolors.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Two volumes of text bound in full leather decorated in blind and in gold with floral motifs on the boards, spine with raised bands, titles impressed; autonomous third volume containing the suites and the “planches libres,” kept within a publisher’s folder. Edition printed on chiffon vellum from des papeteries de Lana. Copy numbered 270. Illustrated with numerous erotic compositions by Amandine Doré, both in black and in color, including plates in the text, separate suites and planches libres kept with original editorial tissue. The “Justification du tirage” is present. Signs of use. In antique books with centuries-long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 168; 4nn; (6). (2); 256; 2nn; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
L’Oeuvre du Divin Arétin. Les Ragionamenti.
Paris, Les Éditions de l’Ibis, 1970.
Pietro Aretino. Illustrations by Amandine Doré.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Ragionamenti by Pietro Aretino are among the most scandalous, ironic, and modern texts of European literature. Written in the heart of the Italian Renaissance, these dialogues stage courtesans, nuns and prostitutes who discuss sex as commerce, social strategy, and form of power. Aretino shatters every official morality with ferocious, theatrical lucidity that will deeply influence all later libertine literature, from Sade to the 20th-century French erotic tradition.
The Éditions de l’Ibis edition belongs to the great era of French luxury erotic editions after the war, heirs of the clandestine Parisian tradition and of refined bibliophilie illustrée linked to artists such as Lobel-Riche, Chimot, Becat and Grau-Sala. In this context, Amandine Doré develops an extremely elegant and decadent visual language: voluptuous female bodies, light lines, theatrical atmospheres, and a sensuality that is almost perfumed, more suggested than brutal. A fundamental element of the specimen is the presence of the autonomous third volume containing the “planches libres,” i.e., erotic plates separate from the main text and intended for the most discerning subscribers. These suites today constitute the most sought-after part of the work, as they are often dispersed, incomplete, or missing in copies that have appeared on the market.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Pietro Aretino (1492–1556), Italian writer, poet, and polemicist, was one of the most scandalous and influential figures of the European Renaissance. Born in Arezzo, he lived mainly between Rome and Venice, establishing himself as a satirical author, adviser to princes, and master of literary provocation. Friend of Titian and Sansovino, he was called the “scourge of princes” for the violence of his satires. His Ragionamenti and Sonetti lussuriosi were among the erotically charged texts most censored and clandestinely read in modern history.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
This edition was printed on March 18, 1970 in Grosrouvre for Les Éditions de l’Ibis, in a limited numbered edition on chiffon vellum from des papeteries de Lana. The “Justification du tirage” distinguishes different states of luxury including original watercolors, colored suites, and suites of line drawings. The present specimen, no. 270, includes the rare autonomous third volume with suites and planches libres erotiques, a distinguishing element compared with ordinary copies of the edition. The productions of Éditions de l’Ibis devoted to Italian Renaissance erotic literature are today regarded as among the most refined expressions of French erotic bibliophily of the 20th century.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Pascal Pia, Les Livres de l’Enfer, Paris, C. Coulet et A. Faure, 1978.
Alexandrian, Histoire de la littérature érotique, Paris, Seghers, 1989.
Guido Almansi, The Writer as Liar: Narrative Technique in the Decameron and the Ragionamenti.
Catalogue de l’Enfer de la Bibliothèque Nationale.
Répertoire des livres illustrés français du XXe siècle.
WorldCat, notices relating to the editions of L’Ibis.
Bibliothèque nationale de France, catalogue général, notices “Aretino – Éditions de l’Ibis”.
ICCU/OPAC SBN, references to modern illustrated editions of Aretino.
Catalogues de bibliophilie érotique française, années 1960–1975.