Berenice

Now this is probably going to sound like a contradiction and that's all right by me but this early Congress Berenice nude is absolute art whereas I've called other so-called pin-up girl playing cards raw smut.

First, there is no sexual connotation involved with the Berenice card. How could there be when a lion is swimming up from the abyss to meet her in magnanimity?! Even the secondary nude behind her sweeping arm is bathed in modesty. 

If one had to define the difference they'd start with intent. This card isn't meant to titillate. It's more of a voyeuristic view in the sense that one would not normally see a woman in her naked form unless he was intimate with her, though not explicitly in a sexual way. This card is artistic because it represents beauty in its natural element.

Then there's the peep-hole sort of voyeurism as shown in the deck above. Though, this is somewhat a bad example because the card backs are actually artistic even if the woman at front and center is getting plump with the available fruit. Yeah, it's tacky but were she not fondling herself it would be artistic, no? In fact, if they could reinvent the pack with the clover-hole window and this cartoon woman just standing there minding her own business we'd have art. But they didn't. The medium devolved into full-on smut as shown below.

Alas- we arrive at smut. I'm sure there are worse examples but the depiction above is in the vein of what set me off last week about the entire matter. On a Joker card to boot! You shameless penny-grubbers! Listen, if this woman was standing by my god-awful white wicker chair looking this way I'd probably moderate my tone but having seen Munch's Model by the Wicker Chair I have better discernment than that and can spot smut and reject it. For the same reason that you'd much rather have a secretary beau than an Only Fans wife I'd much rather have Berenice than the Joker's wild white honey mistress flamingo-ing herself on the ancient tableaus of wisdom and folly. The eBay seller's black censor swaths are the only thing containing artistic merit on the card.