Women and chocolate

Sweetness and self-indulgence, exhilaration and intoxication: the wonderful world of female hedonism in a richly illustrated book.

Female pleasure has existed as an artistic theme since the end of the sixteenth century. Artists represent women in atmospheric restaurant scenes and beautiful garden scenes, at table enjoying a rich variety ofsavours, sitting at the breakfast table or at an opulent banquet, a tea or coffee cup – or even a glass – in their hands. Or they depict exquisite delicacies consumed in the boudoir, where ladies literally abandon them-selves to their delectation.

The women shown in these pictures are mostly to be found in interiors – an environment that is characteristically feminine. Their pleasure in the delicacies they consume and their delight in the refined and luxurious is made visible. Occasionally the paintings are rich in symbols for yearning and desire, for sensual pleasure and eroticism. The Impressionists bathed these hedonistic women in an atmosphere of light …

Birgit Poppe presents us here with an entrancingly illuminated book of pictures of the wonderful world of female pleasures – which is in itself a sensual experience. Great pictures by famous painters such as Lovis Corinth, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Alphonse Mucha, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, John Singer Sargent and many others.

A sensual and succulent book to be leafed through and lingered on in a dream world. An invitation to read and to enjoy. And a wonderful gift.