Sometimes referred to as “libertine” or “erotic art” Rojan’s (Feodor Rojankovski) sexually explicit wordless novel, Idylle printanière (Spring Idyll), is told in 30 black and white lithographs augmented by hand with coloured pencils.
In the 1920s and 30s a number of sexually explicit works were published, particularly in France. Due to their nature, most of these were done anonymously but there is general agreement that Idylle printanière can be attributed to Rojan. The work is undated but is widely believed to have been published in 1934.
Feodor Stepanovich Rojankovsky (1891 –1970), commonly referred to as Rojan, was a Russian émigré who moved to France in 1925. He is known as a writer and prize winning illustrator of children’s books as well as for his erotic art.
Idylle printanière is an erotic, sequential story. Admittedly some of the images depicting various activities could have their order switched without disrupting the “story” line but for the most part the images follow a logical story sequence ie with a beginning, middle, and an end.
This is the story of an encounter between two elegant Parisians: a man talks to a woman on a train platform, in the taxi there are the first sexual encounters and then they are dropped off at a hotel to consummate their mutual desires.
A number of the images are sexually explicit.
Drawings
In June 2025 a suite of 30 original, unsigned, colored pencil drawings on vellum paper was sold at auction. These drawings were used to produce the series of lithographs for Idylle printanière.
- 17 x 11 cm (image)
- 26.5 x 18.5 cm (sheet)
- mounted on individual mats.
Photo credit: Arenberg Auctions