Appropriately situated in Paris’s infamous Pigalle district, just a block from the Moulin Rouge on Boulevard de Clichy, is the Musée de l’Erotisme. Relatively inconspicuous and unassuming in its exterior, at least in contrast with the flashing neon lights of the sex shops that surround it, the Musée de l’Erotisme is the museum that did not make it into your high school French textbook.

The Musée de l’Erotisme houses an extensive collection of art surrounding the theme of, well, eroticism. Over the course of seven floors, erotic works from the ancient to the contemporary are showcased in an almost bombarding manner. Framed paintings, sketches, photographs, and posters cover the walls, while sculptures of various shapes and sizes are presented in an endless number of glass cases. One is presented with more renditions of the sexual act – in every fathomable media – than one usually expects to encounter in a two to three hour period, let alone a lifetime.

The museum begins with a collection of ancient artifacts from cultures around the world. Perhaps most striking, second to the poorly translated and consequently overly vulgar descriptions, is that each artifact is a sexed up twist on an accustomed historical relic. What appears at first to be a classic Corinthian vase is revealed upon closer inspection to depict scenes that go far beyond the typical battle motif. Traditional pipes and flutes adopt a more literal form - a form that one soon finds is incorporated anywhere and everywhere in even the most standard objects. One cannot help but wonder what became of all these works after their creation. Surely the oversized phallic spout on the otherwise normal pot would have proven a hindrance in quotidian use.

Each floor of the museum moves the visitor forward on a chronological journey, traveling through the history of the Parisian brothel, the clumsy beginnings of the pornographic industry, modern reinterpretations of Hieronymous Bosch’s already sexualized triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” and ultimately ending in the temporary exposition (ending in May) of Beatrice Morabito’s photography entitled “Doll’s secret diary.”

The Musée de l’Erotisme is not for the curious art-lover seeking a historical overview of works incorporating erotic undertones. What one finds is an exhaustive amassment of all things illustrating sex in its most literal rendering, from the body to the bawdy. There is such an abundance of works that the collection feels cramped even in the seven-story space. The museum, like the collection it houses, holds nothing back.

17 Boulevard de Clichy 75017

Metro: Blanche

Hours: 10 am – 2 am every day

Price: 6 € (student discount)