Erotic Series with Couples in Bed, anonymous, c. 1750 - c. 1800

etching, h 139mm × w 86mm More details

The tradition of depicting couples caught in the act originated in Marcantonio Raimondi’s famous engraved series I modi (The Sixteen Pleasures, 1524) after Giulio Romano. Such printed series offered a visual catalogue of sexual positions. As the subject never got old, such series were issued throughout the ages, the printmakers – mostly anonymous – simply adapting the setting to the taste of their time.