I Modi



I Modi (The Ways), also known as The Sixteen Pleasures or under the Latin title De omnibus Veneris Schematibus, is a famous erotic book of the Italian Renaissance that had engravings of sexual scenes. The engravings were created in a collaboration between Giulio Romano and Marcantonio Raimondi. They were thought to have been created around 1524 to 1527.

There are now no known copies of the first two editions of I modi by Giulio Romano and Marcantonio Raimondi.

In around 1530 Agostino Veneziano is thought to have created a replacement set of engravings for the engravings in I modi by Giulio and Marcantonio.

Giulio Romano and Marcantonio Raimondi edition (around 1524–1527)


The first edition of I Modi was created in a collaboration between Giulio Romano and Marcantonio Raimondi.

One idea that is speculated is that Giulio drew the figures while Marcantonio designed the settings.

Another idea is that this collaboration occurred when Giulio Romano was doing a series of erotic paintings as a commission for Federico II Gonzaga’s new Palazzo Te in Mantua and Marcantonio Raimondi based the engravings for I modi on these paintings.

It has also been speculated that the images in I modi may have been inspired by Ancient Roman spintria tokens as well as erotic Ancient Roman sculptures and reliefs. It is speculated that Giulio Romano may have seen spintria tokens.

The engravings were published by Marcantonio in 1524, and led to his imprisonment by Pope Clement VII and the destruction of all copies of the engravings.

Giulio Romano did not become aware of the engravings by Marcantonio until the poet Pietro Aretino came to see his paintings. These are the paintings that Marcantonio is thought to have based his engravings on and Romano was still working on these paintings when Aretino came to visit. Romano was not prosecuted since—unlike Marcantonio—his images were not intended for public consumption, and he was not in the Papal States.

Aretino then composed sixteen explicit sonnets to accompany the engravings, and secured Marcantonio's release from prison.

I modi was then published a second time in 1527, now with the sonnets that have given them the traditional English title Aretino's Postures. It is thought that this is the first time erotic text and images were combined, though the papacy once more seized all the copies it could find. It is thought Marcantonio escaped prison on this second occasion, but the suppression on both occasions was comprehensive.

There are presently no remaining copies of the first or second edition of I modi. The images that were in these two editions of I modi are thought to have been copied several times.

Agostino Veneziano copy (around 1530)
It is thought that Agostino Veneziano may have created a single replacement set of engravings for the images created by Giulio and Marcantonio in I modi. There is one whole image as well as nine fragments cut from seven engravings that are in the British Museum, and it is thought that all of these images come from this replacement set of engravings by Agostino. These engravings by Agostino are dated to around 1530.

There is an engraving of Leda and the Swan in the British Museum that is thought to be by Agostino Veneziano, and it is thought to have been created in around 1524 to 1527. It is speculated that this engraving has been based on an engraving from I modi by Giulio and Marcantonio. The engraving is the same size and format as the I modi engravings, and it is speculated that it may be based on a design by Giulio Romano.

It is thought that as well as Agostino Veneziano there were other people who contributed to the creation of this replacement set of engravings.

Copies of the Agostino Veneziano copy of I modi
Woodcut booklet copy (around 1555)

A possibly infringing copy of I modi with crude illustrations created using woodcut relief printing is thought to copy the images of I modi from the Agostino Veneziano edition of the work.

It is speculated that this woodcut booklet was created around 1555.

This woodcut booklet was bound in with some contemporary texts and was discovered in the 1920s. The artist who created the woodcut images in the booklet is unknown.

It is thought that this woodcut booklet is "…several generations removed from the original engravings…" of Marcantonio. It is thought that these generations of I modi copies have been based on the Agostino Veneziano edition of I modi.

It has been speculated that this woodcut booklet from around 1555 may have been copied from a second woodcut copy of I modi that is speculated to have been created around 1540.

It is thought the woodblocks that were used to print the woodcut booklet may have been reused multiple times. The images have borders that were frequently broken indicating wear and breakage in the woodblocks.

One of the leaves is missing from this woodcut booklet and there were I modi-related images on these leaves.

This woodcut booklet shows that there were more images in Giulio and Marcantonio's edition of I modi than is shown by the nine remaining fragments and the one whole image that are thought to be by Agostino Veneziano.

It has been described that for this woodcut booklet there are two images "…in the abbreviated final signature…[that] seem to come from different traditions." For one of these two images it has been commented that "…both image and text differ markedly in style from those that precede them…" in the woodcut booklet.

When the images in the woodcut booklet are compared to the engravings thought to be by Agostino it is thought they have been changed to suit the woodcut medium, with the images being square and reduced in size.

Engraving in the Albertina museum (16th century)

There is one engraving in the Albertina museum that is thought to have been copied from Agostino Veneziano's edition of I modi. It matches an oval fragment in the British Museum and the 11th image in the woodcut booklet.

It is thought that this single engraving comes from a set of engravings and only this one engraving presently remains from this set.

It is dated to the 16th century, and the artist is unknown. It is numbered in the bottom right corner with two.

Francesco Xanto Avelli maiolica dishes

It is thought that between 1531 and 1535 Francesco Xanto Avelli saw Agostino Veneziano's copy of I modi. Xanto painted a maiolica dish titled The Tiber in Flood, and the figures on this dish have the same postures as those in images numbered 1, 3, 8 and 14 in the woodcut booklet.

Xanto painted a second maiolica dish titled Narcissus (The vain lover of his own image). The figure of Narcissus on this maiolica plate has been copied from the third woodcut copy image of I modi.

Parmigianino drawing

Parmigianino drew a copy of one of the engravings in I modi with sex occurring between two figures who are seated. This drawing is similar to the 10th image in the woodcut booklet. It includes similar postures of the figures and details of drapery and furniture. A second drawing by Parmigianino has similarities to the 10th image in the woodcut booklet.

Engravings in the National Library of Spain

There is an engraving in the National Library of Spain that copies one scene from I modi. The engraving shows two figures seated having sex with a wooden cradle lying on the ground next to them, and the foot of one of the figures is rocking the cradle. This engraving is not present in the woodcut booklet and does not correspond to any of the fragments thought to be by Agostino Veneziano that are in the British Museum.

A second engraving in the National Library of Spain has been copied from the one whole engraving that is thought to be by Agostino Veneziano and that corresponds to image one in the woodcut booklet. This second engraving has been created in reverse when compared to the image thought to be by Agostino.

Both of these two images in the National Library of Spain are by an unknown artist and dated to after 1530. They are also both "…uniform in engraving style, paper and ink…".

Sepia drawings by Johan Tobias Sergel

A sepia drawing by Johan Tobias Sergel (1740–1814) possibly copies one scene from I Modi. The scene that it copies is the scene that is shown on an engraving in the National Library of Spain of sex between two seated figures.

A second sepia drawing by Johan Tobias Sergel has some similarities to this image in the National Library of Spain.

"The French Arétin by a member of the Academy of Ladies" - François-Félix Nogaret, Francois-Rolland Elluin, Antoine Borel - (1787)

In 1787 a book of sonnets and engravings of sexual scenes was published under the title "L'Aretin François, by a member of the Academy of Ladies". The sonnets were written by François-Félix Nogaret and the engravings were created by Francois-Rolland Elluin based on drawings by Antoine Borel. It is thought to have been published in Reims or Paris and is in the collection of the National Library of France.

It is commented in the book that; "Do not expect to find here a literal translation of the Sonnets of Aretino.... ...The Poet only applied himself to rendering the various subjects of the Designer..."

These same sonnets by François-Félix Nogaret were published again in a book in 1869 under the same title. It is also commented in this book from 1869 that the poems in this book have been translated from the sonnets of Pietro Aretino.

In a foreword to the book published in 1869 it is commented that "L'Arétin français, followed by Les Epices de Vénus, first appeared in 1787, then in 1788, then in 1803, 1829, 1830 and 1869".

In this book from 1869 there are a total of eighteen engravings. Seventeen of these eighteen engravings are copies of engravings that are in the book published in 1787.

For the book published in 1787 there are two images that have some similarities to two images from I modi. One image is similar to an engraving in the National Library of Spain showing sex between two people who are seated. The second image is similar to the 14th image in the woodcut booklet.

For the book published in 1869 there is also an that image is similar to the 14th image in the woodcut booklet.

Henry Wellesley engravings 

Henry Wellesley owned two engravings that are now in the collection of the National Library of France, and both engravings are related to I modi images. One engraving was similar to the whole single image thought to be by Agostino in the British Museum and was numbered, and the other engraving was similar to the image in the Albertina museum and was numbered two.

Delaborde and Bartsch descriptions

Henri Delaborde and Adam Bartsch gave descriptions of images as belonging to I modi. The descriptions that they gave do not relate to any existing images and perhaps are examples of additional images that may have been in the original I modi.

17th-century printing
In the 17th century, Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford, engaged in the surreptitious printing at the University Press of Aretino's Postures, Aretino's De omnis Veneris schematibus and the indecent engravings after Giulio and Marcantonio. The Dean, Dr. John Fell, impounded the copper plates and threatened those involved with expulsion. The text of Aretino's sonnets, however, survives.

Augustine Carracci's The Aretin or Collection of Erotic Postures by Jacques Joseph Coiny
In 1798, in Paris, a collection of engravings of sexual scenes were published under the title Augustine Carracci's The Aretin or Collection of Erotic Postures. The engravings were created by Jacques Joseph Coiny.

One theory is that these images were based on the erotic poses in The Loves of the Gods which was created at the start of the 17th century in Antwerp by Pieter de Jode I with the use of burin. It presently remains uncertain what images these engravings were based on. It is thought that Coiny had a set of six anonymous prints, and it is difficult to say which prints these were.

A second idea is that these engravings were created by Camillo Procaccini, though based on Carracci drawings, which in turn are very similar to the engravings in the edition of I modi by Giulio and Marcantonio. A third idea is that they were created by Agostino Carracci for a later reprint of Aretino's poems.

Classical guise in Augustine Carracci's The Aretin or Collection of Erotic Postures
Several factors were used to cloak these engravings from Augustine Carracci's The Aretin or Collection of Erotic Postures in classical scholarly respectability:
 * The images nominally depicted famous pairings of lovers (e.g. Antony and Cleopatra) or husband-and-wife deities (e.g. Jupiter and Juno) from classical history and mythology engaged in sexual activity, and were entitled as such. Related to this were:
 * Portraying them with their usual attributes, such as:
 * Cleopatra's banquets, bottom left
 * Achilles's shield and helmet, bottom left
 * Hercules in his lion-skin and club
 * Mars with his cuirass
 * Paris as a shepherd
 * Bacchus with his vine-leaf crown and (bottom right) grapes
 * Referring to the best-known myths or historical events in which they appeared, e.g.:
 * Mars and Venus under the net which her husband Vulcan has designed to catch them
 * 'Aeneas' and 'Dido' in the cave in which their sexual intercourse is alluded in Aeneid, Book 4
 * Theseus abandoning Ariadne on Naxos, where Bacchus finds and marries her.
 * The wide adultery of Julia
 * Messalina's participation in prostitution, as criticised in Juvenal's Satire VI.
 * Referring to other Renaissance and classical tropes in the depiction of these people and deities, such as
 * The contrast between Mars's dark hair and tanned skin and his partner Venus's untanned, fair skin and fair or even blond hair.
 * Jupiter's full beard
 * The frontispiece image is entitled Venus Genetrix, and the goddess is nude and drawn in a chariot by doves, as in the classical sources.
 * The bodies of those depicted show clear influences from classical statuary known at the time, such as:
 * The over-muscled torsos and backs of the men (drawn from sculptures such as the Laocoön and his Sons, Belvedere Torso, and Farnese Hercules).
 * The women's clearly defined though small breasts (drawn from examples such as the Venus de' Medici and Aphrodite of Cnidus)
 * The elaborate hairstyles of some of the women, such as his Venus, Juno or Cleopatra (derived from Roman Imperial era busts such as this one).
 * Portraying the action in a classical 'stage set' such as an ancient Greek sanctuary or temple.
 * The large erect penis on the statue of Priapus or Pan atop a puteal in 'The Cult of Priapus' is derived from examples in classical sculpture and painting (like this fresco) which were beginning to be found archaeologically at this time.

Differences from antique art
Augustine Carracci's The Aretin or Collection of Erotic Postures has various points of deviation from classical literature, erotica, mythology and art which suggest its classical learning is lightly worn, and make clear its actual modern setting:
 * The male sexual partners' large penises (though not Priapus's) are the artist's invention rather than a classical borrowing – the idealised penis in classical art was small, not large (large penises were seen as comic or fertility symbols, as for example on Priapus, as discussed above).
 * The title 'Polyenus and Chryseis' pairs the fictional Polyenus with the actual mythological character Chryseis.
 * The title 'Alcibiades and Glycera' pairs two historical figures from different periods – the 5th-century BC Alcibiades and the 4th-century BC Glycera
 * Female satyrs did not occur in classical mythology, yet they appear twice in this work (in 'The Satyr and his wife' and 'The Cult of Priapus').
 * All the women and goddesses in this work (but most clearly its Venus Genetrix) have a hairless groin (like classical statuary of nude females) but also a clearly apparent vulva (unlike classical statuary).
 * The modern furniture, e.g.
 * The various stools and cushions used to support the participants or otherwise raise them into the right positions (e.g. here)
 * The other sex aids (e.g. a whip, bottom right)
 * The 16th-century beds, with ornate curtains, carvings, tasselled cushions, bedposts, etc.

Engravings from Augustine Carracci's The Aretin or Collection of Erotic Postures
The images in the table below are the engravings from Augustine Carracci's The Aretin or Collection of Erotic Postures.

These engravings have inspired the creation of erotic art from other artists including Paul Avril.

Drawings - Fossombrone Sketchbook - Workshop of Raphael
In the Fossombrone sketchbook there are two drawings that show sex between two people. Drawings in the Fossombrone sketchbook are from the workshop of Raphael.

One idea is that these two drawings are based on "I modi" engravings. Image 16 from the woodcut booklet has some similarities to both of these drawings.

Another idea that has been speculated is that they show "...independant permutations and variations on sexual motifs perhaps from an antique source, perhaps invented in Raphael's studio." Further that "...these drawings while fascinatingly similar to the Modi, differ even more significantly from anything in the visual remains of those prints, as well as from each other in composition and perhaps graphic style."

It was further commented that these two drawings "...allow the Modi to be understood as emerging from a collective enterprise, rather than as unique orignary models." and that "...these erotic scenes [can be seen] as pure fantasia, products of heated imagination."

Fresco cycle on the ceiling of the Farnese Gallery - Annibale Carracci and studio (Between 1597 to 1608)
Between 1597 to 1608 Annibale Carracci and his studio painted a fresco cycle on the ceiling of the Farnese Gallery which is located in the west wing of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome.

This fresco cycle is titled The Loves of the Gods and the images were drawn from Ovid's Metamorphoses. These frescos include nudes that are intimating sex between two people in contrast to the engravings in "I modi".

Cultural references
The Restoration closet drama Farce of Sodom is set in "an antechamber hung with Aretine's postures". In the 1989 novel The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga, a copy of the book is discovered in a convent following the 1966 flood of the Arno.