Erotic Series with Couples in Bed

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.