Erich Von Gotha
Related: British art - British erotica - fetish erotica - WIP
Biography
Erich von Götha de la Rosičre (aka „Erich von Gotha“) is the pseudonym of the British illustrator and comic book artist Robin Ray. Robin Ray has also worked under the pseudonyms Janssens, Baldur Grimm and Robbins. Robin Ray has gained fame with his erotic and above all sadomasochist content. In the early 2000s he had a solo exhibition in the Mondo Bizzarro Gallery in Bologna entitled Sweat Tears & Reflections. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_von_G%C3%B6tha [Mar 2007]
Profile
The background and identity of this elusive artist are the stuff of legend. It has been claimed by various ill-informed sources that he is a German diplomat, a Russian Doctor, a well-known French philosopher, or an English academic named Robbins.
There are elements of truth in all these stories, but not much. He did in fact enjoy a nomadic upbringing and travelled to these places and more, even Afghanistan, and his father was an artist who was awarded a Gold Medal in Uzbekhistan for portraits of Prime minister Omgal Prscicz and other members of the government. He was always destined to become an artist himself; in his formative years he was dominated by a portrait of his father with glaring eyes that had been done by an esteemed academician. From this he learnt much of his art; he completed his education with four years training in London.
Quickly discovering a predilection for the erotic and sometimes obscene depiction of beautiful women, often particularly appreciated by women themselves, he contributed to early editions of "The Sex Maniac’s Diary".
From then he went on to produce his own ground–breaking magazine, "Torrid", long since disappeared but avidly collected.
Cheated out of any rewards for his efforts and frustrated by censorship in England, he needed the fateful intervention of a psychic prediction and an Italian benefactor before finding his publishing home in France.
After publication of "The Troubles of Janice" he swiftly gained a world-wide reputation and it is still available today almost everywhere except the UK and Somalia.
He continues to produce feverishly exciting comics and drawings in different versions and for clients all around Europe. He has had exhibitions of his work in Paris and Brussels and is recognised as one of the seminal figures in the history of erotic strip-cartoons.
Photographs of Van Gotha do not exist but portraits depict him alternatively with a monocle, bald pate and cruel mouth or with a white hair, genial smile and twinkle in the eye.
c/o Larmes d'Eros, 58 rue Amelot, 75011 Paris.
--http://www.erotic-awards.co.uk/2002/erich-von-gotha.shtml [Apr 2005]
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