Pierre Molinier

Pierre Molinier is a French surrealist painter and photographer, renowned for his autoerotic photographs.

Born on April 13, 1900, in Agen, France, Molinier began his artistic journey as a landscape painter, working in Fauvist and Impressionist styles. Following World War II, he delved into the erotic and fetishistic influences that would later define his oeuvre. In 1955, he struck up a correspondence with the surrealist André Breton, who offered him encouragement. By 1965, Molinier was producing autoerotic self-portraits and photomontages in his Bordeaux apartment, which he referred to as his "boudoir." These photographs often featured male mannequins donning lingerie and engaging in erotic play. The figures were frequently photomontaged to achieve vertical or radial symmetries.

As the 1970s dawned, Molinier's health began to wane, leading to his suicide on March 3, 1976, in Bordeaux.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

• PIERRE MOLINIER; authors: Pierre Molinier, André Breton, and Emmanuelle Arsan; published by Jean-Jacques Pauvert; 1969; France.

• PIERRE MOLINIER PHOTOGRAPHER, A RETROSPECTIVE (PIERRE MOLINIER PHOTOGRAPHE, UNE RETROSPECTIVE); author: Jean-Luc Mercié; Mennour edition (exhibition catalog); 2000; France.

• INTERVIEWS OF PIERRE MOLINIER WITH PIERRE CHAUVEAU (ENTRETIENS DE PIERRE MOLINIER AVEC PIERRE CHAUVEAU); 1972 (text and audio recording on CD), Opales; 2003; France.

• PIERRE MOLINIER, I WAS BORN A MAN-WHORE (PIERRE MOLINIER, JE SUIS NÉ HOMME-PUTAIN); author: Jean-Luc Mercié (writings and drawings by Pierre Molinier); Biro editions; 2005; France.