Introducting vintage bdsm artists with a small collection art. Larger collections can be found on Vintage Bdsm Art.
Eugène Réunier, a pseudonym for German artist Carl Breuer-Courth, significantly influenced early 20th-century erotic art. His 1925 portfolio, Autour de l’Amour, depicted themes of dominance and submission, pioneering visual narratives for the kink community. Réunier’s legacy intertwines with the dismantling of Victorian taboos, preserving crucial aspects of BDSM history. Continue reading Carl Breuer-Courth
Charles Gates Sheldon (1888–1960) didn’t set out to be a fetishist. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, he trained at the Art Students League in New York under luminaries like George Bridgman. By 1916 he was already the go-to illustrator for The Ladies’ Home Journal, turning out soft-focus cover girls in pastel and charcoal that made every reader believe beauty was just one sigh away.But Sheldon wasn’t … Continue reading Charles Gates Sheldon
Marian Wawrzeniecki (c. 1863–1943) was a Polish painter, archaeologist, and art historian who melded the ancient with the erotic. His work, inspired by Slavic mythology, features themes of desire and mortality. His unique blend of pagan dominance and sensuality prefigures modern BDSM art, leaving a lasting legacy of profound emotional truth. Continue reading Marian Wawrzeniecki
Paul Prött (c. 1880–1945), a German artist, transformed personal tragedy into a powerful voice in Weimar erotica. His works, influenced by his WWI experiences, melded commercial design with BDSM themes. Prött’s stark black-and-white pieces, featuring raw power dynamics, anticipated later kink aesthetics, making his originals highly sought after. Continue reading Paul Prött
Chéri Hérouard (1881–1961), as Herric, turned 1920s–1930s Paris into a chic spanking playground. His La Vie Parisienne illustrations blend Art Deco elegance, theatrical flair, and mischievous humor, elevating corseted damsels and stern governesses into high-society BDSM spectacles. Continue reading Cheri Herouard
Gaston Smit (active 1919–1933), alias Georges Topfer and James Barclay, is a mysterious French illustrator of interwar flagellation erotica. Likely one artist, he produced over 100 theatrical, sadomasochistic illustrations for clandestine Parisian publishers, blending Victorian tales with vivid, discreetly distributed visuals. Continue reading Gaston Smit
Raymond van Doren (1906–1991) was a Belgian artist known for his portraiture, female nudes, and groundbreaking fetish photography. His works, spanning much of the 20th century, reflect themes of vulnerability and power, utilizing classical techniques and modernist elements. Van Doren’s contributions have recently gained renewed interest for their historical significance in pre-war erotica. Continue reading Raymond van Doren
Seiu Ito (1882–1961) is recognized as the father of modern kinbaku, blending Edo-period elements with eroticism in bondage art. Despite facing censorship and losing much of his work in WWII, he influenced contemporary BDSM culture through his innovative techniques, illustrated life, and artistic contributions that captured the spirit of his time. Continue reading Seiu Ito
When the world thinks of fetish photography and illustration, the name John Willie inevitably surfaces. John Alexander Scott Coutts (1902–1962), better known as John Willie, was a British-born illustrator, photographer, publisher, and bondage pioneer whose work defined the golden age of mid-century fetish art. With a pen in one hand and a rope in the other, he turned restraint into high art and fantasy into a shared … Continue reading John Willie
Thomas Rowlandson ( July 1757 –1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. Rowlandson was a prolific artist and printmaker. He produced both individual social and political satires. He also created a large number of illustrations for novels, humorous books, and topographical works. Like other caricaturists of his age such as James Gillray, his … Continue reading Rowlandson’s Satire
