Aubrey Beardsley

description

An English graphic artist, illustrator, designer, poet and publicist, the largest representative of English Art Nouveau at the end of the 19th century.

He was born into a wealthy aristocratic English family. Received comprehensively home education, including music and art. However, his father randomly squandered his family property, and when Aubrey and his sister grew up, they were in need.

The main sources of inspiration were paintings of Michelangelo, Botticelli and other Renaissance masters. Also, Aubrey’s creative manner was strongly influenced by several art movements.

Aubrey Beardsley was one of the creators of the style, known for his brilliant graphic works, most of which are illustrations to the works of such famous authors as O. Wilde, T. Mallory and E. Poe. Beardsley was the art editor of famous magazine “The Yellow Book” and, despite a very short life (only 25 years), became one of the most famous artists of his time and the main figure of the aesthetic movement of the end of the century in England.

The author’s works are closely connected with musical works and literature. Being comprehensively gifted, Beardsley composed poems and prose. These works, which he illustrated himself, differ in depth, elegance and the refined perception of the world.

Key Ideas:

– Grace, special refinement, harmony of the line and great originality distinguish the painter’s art.
– A brilliant Art Nouveau draftsman, Aubrey Beardsley is best known for his black and white illustrations that express the aesthetics of English decadence. His graphics for “Death of Arthur”, “Salome”, “Rape curling” and many other works, tell about a strong intellectual beginning, the comprehensive education of the author and his inherent witness.
– Many works are based on the grotesque; they are caricature and mock human vices. “The vices are terrible, and this must be depicted,” the artist considered.
– The work of Beardsley was done in a simplified, stylized manner. Most often the artist worked with large spots of black and white planes, giving the main role to the line and saturating only small sections of drawings with small details. In later works, such as the illustrations to book ‘Volpone’, Beardsley used dense shading, giving objects a volume, and giving depth to the painting.
– His contemporaries ambiguously perceived fairly explicit erotic art of Beardsley, but the artist was never afraid of criticism, and did not adapt to the changing desires of the public. Aubrey Vincent worked in his own style, creating unique monuments of illustration and design, which received a huge number of admirers and followers around the world.

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1872

1879

1887

1891

1893 - 1894

1895

1896 - 1897

1898

The birth of the artist

Aubrey Beardsley was born on the 21st of August in 1872 in Brighton, Sussex, England.

At a young age he contracted tuberculosis

At a young age he contracted tuberculosis, often could not get out of bed. The impact of the disease was painful, as evidenced by the “self-portrait in bed”, created in 1894, which depicts a child almost absorbed in a huge bed.

The creative debut of a poet and an artist

At the gymnasium, Aubrey became famous for drawing successful but not very kind caricatures of his teachers. In “Past and Present” magazine, a series of pictures called “Analysis of the jubilee cricket match” and the first poem “The Valiant” were published. It was the creative debut of a poet and an artist who was successful.

Bern-Jones recommended the young man to enter Westminster Art School

Accompanying his sister to the workshop of Sir Edward Burne-Jones, the artist and illustrator, Aubrey decided to show the master his drawings. Deeply impressed by the apparent talent of Aubrey, Bern-Jones recommended the young man to enter Westminster Art School. Artist Frederic Brown became the teacher of Beardsley in this institution. In his spare time, the young artist copies paintings by famous artists in London’s museums and galleries.

Worked on illustrations for magazines

Worked on illustrations for magazines, some of which were published under his leadership (“Yellow Book”, “Savoy”). Also, on the proposal of publisher Joseph Dent, he created illustrations to T. Malory’s “Death of Arthur”. Soon play “Salome” by O. Wilde, decorated with the illustrations by Beardsley, was published. These works brought popularity to the artist.

The scandal

Left the editorial office of “Yellow Book” magazine. This was due to the scandal around O. Wilde, as well as erotic drawings for “True History” of Lucian. Beardsley’s sexual orientation is unclear, but there was feverish public speculation, accusations of homosexuality, being a transvestite and even incest with his sister. This was furthered by the smart look of the artist, who loved fine gloves, lacquered leather and the most fashionable costumes. The relationship with Wilde, although reinforced his career at the beginning, costed Beardsley his post as an art editor of “The Yellow Book”, an important decadent magazine.

The artist worked on illustrations

He was highly appreciated by master James Abbott Whistler, an Anglo-American artist. However, his witty illustrations for “Lysistratus” and the satires of Juvenal were recognized by society as too erotic. The artist worked on illustrations to the stories of Edgar Poe, to “The Abduction of the Curl” by A. Puop, to “Scenes from the Parisian Life” by O. Balzac, “Volpone” by B. Johnson; in connection with the catastrophically deteriorating health, the artist left England, choosing the French Riviera as the place of residence.

Continuing to plan and work hard

Continuing to plan and work hard, the artist wrote farewell letters, begging his publisher to destroy all of his drawings, which had too erotic content. But the modernist’s drawings were never destroyed.