Pierre Louÿs remains best known for his Aphrodite, his Songs of Bilitis and erotic work, recently republished in collection "Mouthpieces". In the latter kind, it has a strange case because it was truly erotomaniac, and to borrow a phrase in the world of painting, he literally painted "on the ground". Erotic work is not the result of a passing amusement, but of a near obsession. He was a friend of Gide and Valery, Debussy put it to music, and chipa the wife of Henri de Regnier (JM Girl Heredia). He lived a long time in comfort (it was a kind of dandy) and ended his days in a rather sordid destitution. The book of John Paul Goujon (scientific editor Louÿs) paints a complete picture, without complacency, drawn from the primary sources. It provides a useful stone to the attention of artistic circles of the Belle Epoque.
