A beautiful gift book devoted to the work of Aubrey Beardsley, one of the defining – and most controversial – artists of the Art Nouveau style.

Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898) was only 25 when he died from tuberculosis, but in his short life he established a reputation as one of the most accomplished – and controversial – illustrators of his day, whose contribution to the visual language of Art Nouveau was profound. Astonishingly, all his work was created in the course of only six years, and is today instantly recognizable for its use of black ink and flowing lines on white paper – and its erotically charged subject matter. Not all his work was lubricious – some of it was political, poking fun at the decadent mores of the time – but much of it was, taking its stylistic inspiration from Japanese shunga and Greek vase painting and its thematic inspiration from mythology, history, poetry and drama.

This beautifully designed, accessibly priced gift book offers a wealth of illustrations by Beardsley, and introduces his exquisitely wrought drawings and prints to a new audience. With a text by Jan Marsh and around 110 illustrations from the extensive collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, this book brings together a carefully curated selection of works from Beardsley’s tragically short but highly productive life.

Contents List:

Preface • Introduction • The Plates

About the Author:

Jan Marsh specializes in the Victorian period, in particular the Pre-Raphaelites and William Morris. She is president of the William Morris Society, a trustee of the William Morris Gallery and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Marsh was a contributor to May Morris: Art & Life, also published by Thames & Hudson.

English illustrator and author Aubrey Beardsley (1872–98) was a leading figure of the Aesthetic Movement and the most controversial artist of the 1890s. His delicate yet bold drawings in black ink of grotesque, sensual and erotic subjects transformed the art of illustration but also scandalized Victorian society with their dark and often perverse imagery. Prolific until his young death at the age of twenty-five from tuberculosis, he produced an enormous body of work that symbolized the decadence of the period and had a substantial and lasting effect on the Art Nouveau and poster movements.

Published twenty years after he died, The Art of Aubrey Beardsley presented some sixty of his most significant works in an intimate pocket volume. With a personal memoir and critical appreciation by Beardsley’s collaborator the poet and magazine editor Arthur Symons written upon the artist’s death, the book soon became the definitive word on the provocative artist’s seductive and individual art. This centenary facsimile edition faithfully reproduces the pages of the original 1918 volume while presenting them in a beautifully designed, high-quality clothbound format that will appeal to a contemporary audience. A perfect gift for any Beardsley enthusiast, this book will also appeal to anyone interested in the fin-de-siècle era and the beginnings of modern graphic art.

This 240-page book, Aubrey Beardsley: The Decadent Magician of the Light and the Darkness, reveals the core of the artist Aubrey Beardsley through more than 180 of his artworks, compiled under the supervision of Hiroshi Unno, a critic and a writer who has contributed to many books on the fin-de-siècle.

Aubrey Beardsley was an illustrator who was best known for his drawings in black ink filled with erotic and decadent features. He was born in Brighton, England on August 21, 1872. The Victorian era in which Aubrey lived was gripped by a strict, rigid, conservative morality. The society was male-dominated and forced women to be modest. However, in Brighton, which developed into a seaside resort for the upper classes full of entertainment, people were relieved from such strictness. Brighton was also a breeding ground of a sense of liberty in all things, and sexuality was no exception. In other words, it can be said that the Victorian era was a chaotic era during which open-minded thoughts on sexuality and strict, male-dominated morality coexist. Aubrey's mother, Ellen, was a person who embodied that Brighton atmosphere. Although she worried about raising her son in such an environment, she also taught literature and music to Aubrey. It was lucky for him to spend his youth with Ellen, and Brighton definitely became the basis of his talent for grasping the oddness of society in this era. Aubrey moved to London when he was 15 years old. When the Beardsley family left Brighton, Aubrey lost the feeling of liberty he had been raised with, but at the same time was able to develop his talent by interacting with Edward Burne-Jones, Oscar Wilde, and William Morris, the artists that coloured this period. Aubrey, whose talent blossomed in London, began to offer his illustrations to many literary and theatrical outlets.

The most famous examples are his illustrations for Oscar Wilde's Salome, Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves" from One Thousand and One Nights, the French magazine Yellow Book, and the play Lysistrata. The illustrations for these literary and theatrical artworks had also been drawn by many other illustrators, but Aubrey's work was totally different from anyone else's. The seductive motifs that he drew, using only black ink, such as a woman with a fearless smile, a gentleman with disdainful contempt, and figures with extremely exaggerated genitals, all express Aubrey's incomparable talent for grasping the chaos and unsettled atmosphere of the period. The rebellious nature and imagery of his illustrations were often controversial. People even called him "the Devil's younger brother". But there is no doubt that he was a star of the age, which is evident from the many influential illustrators who came after him who were influenced by Aubrey's work, such as Harry Clarke, Alastair, John Austin, Kay Nielsen and George Barbier.

Unfortunately, Aubrey's genius illuminated the end of the nineteenth century, the era of fin-de-siècle decadence, only briefly before fading away, when his tragically short life ended after just twenty-five years. How did the rebellious, yet refined, monochrome artworks were drawn by "the Devil's younger brother" come about? Was his life simply the art itself? This book is a gem that presents the artwork that is most identified with "Beardsley" himself, revealing both the artist and the idea, through his life and his masterpieces.