The Kinky Art of the Biederer Brothers
Whilst erotic artwork flourished many years prior to its invention, the camera exponentially expanded the ways in which kinksters could get their fix.
In the early 19th century, photography studios were increasing in popularity. Some entrepreneurs chose to focus on production of high-quality erotic pictures, ranging from nudes to kinky acts. In the years between the two World Wars, Paris attracted some of the world’s most prominent artists, writers, composers, and photographers. It was a golden age of sorts for the city, especially in cinema and photography.
Two of the most well-known photography studios during this time were located in Paris, France.
Ostra Studio and Biederer Studios were founded by Jacques and Charles Biederer, brothers from a village in what is now the Czech Republic called Moravská Ostrava. The two brothers specialised in what was called ‘glamour’ photography. Their photos were not intended to be offensive, though many found them as such. Rather, the brothers sought to attract and entice their audience, almost inviting them to join in the kinky fun.
From scenes of female domination to roleplay to impact play, the Biederer Studio steadily gained a reputation for exploring the kinkier side of this artistic age.
With the popularity of the Biederer Studio, Ostra Studio followed as a branch of sorts, creating albums and photo-sets in a publishing house format. Glamour photography was distributed illegally and oftentimes proliferators of such images were arrested and tried in court.
For this reason, it’s rare that you’ll find a photograph signed by the artist. Instead, the photographers of this genre began to demonstrate their own technique and style in their photos that served as a signature in and of itself, or their signature was coded as a symbol of some sort (called a watermark) in the corner of the photo.
The two studios created quality works in their own right. Whilst Biederer Studio continued to focus on structured scenes within kink and BDSM scenarios, pictures from Ostra were often taken outside, ranging from more ‘vanilla’ depictions of couples to spanking scenes. However, the brothers excelled in studio settings, and Ostra produced more than just kinky photos, expanding to mail-order catalogues and illustrations for pornographic books.
Sadly, the Biederer brothers would meet a tragic end at the hands of the Nazis during the German occupation of France from 1940-1944.
Being of Jewish descent, the brothers were captured in 1942 and sent to Auschwitz. Jacques was seized on 17 July and his brother Charles followed shortly thereafter on the 25th. It is unknown when Jacques perished, though there is no record of him after this point. Charles is recorded to have died on 15 August 1942, less than a month after his capture.
The exploration of kink and BDSM in the photography of the Biederer brothers can be felt in their artwork.
The wonderful website, Biederer Studio, includes an extensive collection of photographs by the Biederer brothers, and its dedicated curator continues to collect spectacular photos from this era. We credit this website as the source for all photography shared in this article.
