Elisàr August Emanuel von Kupffer

Elisàr August Emanuel von Kupffer (1872–1942), the Baltic-German painter-poet who signed as Elisarion, wove BDSM motifs into a utopian philosophy he called Clarism—a celebration of male beauty, spiritual transcendence, and sacred dominance. His androgynous ephebes, bound in silken cords or kneeling before radiant masters, pulse with Symbolist ecstasy rather than mere punishment.

he whip is the scepter of the soul that awakens the sleeping god within the flesh.
Elisarion, journal entry, 1911; quoted in Clarism and the Temple of Eros (Huber, 1987)

From Clarist Murals to Private Fetish Cycles

In the frescoes of his Swiss sanctuary Sanctuarium Artis Elisarion (Minusio), von Kupffer depicted ritual flagellation and tender bondage as steps toward divine androgyny. His clandestine portfolios—Die Geissel der Liebe (The Scourge of Love) and Knaben im Rosenhain—explore F/M and M/M power play with luminous, almost religious intensity.

Enduring Echo in Queer Esoteric Art

Von Kupffer’s fusion of mysticism and discipline prefigures modern sacred-kink aesthetics. His work remains a hidden cornerstone for collectors of homoerotic Symbolist erotica.

Discover more art from Elisar von Kupffer:
Sanctuarium Artis Elisarion – Vintage Bdsm Art

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