Born in 1872, Aubrey Beardsley was an illustrator who, despite his short life, had an immense impact on illustration. The late Victorian period in which he worked was a time of significant change, both technologically and socially. People were beginning to question the benefits of rapid industrialisation and the strict social order and values that came with it. Although the majority would continue to stand by these norms, there were movements beginning, particularly in the arts, that criticised and satirised them. Aubrey Beardsley was one of them. His attitude and artwork was highly controversial and associated with the Decadent Movement of the late 19th century. Much of Beardsley's work explored sexual freedom, issues of gender, and the bizarre, playing on Victorian anxieties about sexual expression and fear of feminism.
In 1892, Beardsley was commissioned by J.M. Dent to illustrate Thomas Malory's 'Le Morte D'Arthur' in the style of William Morris' Kelmscott Press Books. Over the course of two years, Beardsley created 353 illustrations, everything from chapter headers to full or double page illustrations. Being such a large undertaking, Beardsley would get bored and proceed to stray from the brief, incorporating subversive details and incongruous characters in order to keep himself entertained. This is something he would continue to do throughout his art career, for example, hiding caricatures of Oscar Wilde in his illustrations for ‘Salome' and sexual references in countless of his works. In his early years of working, he was greatly inspired by Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones. When Beardsley was 18, he met Burne-Jones who, after looking through his portfolio, said “I seldom or never advise anyone to take up art as a profession, but in your case I can do nothing else.” The influence is particularly noticeable in the ‘Le Morte D’Arthur’ Illustrations. The way the figures are positioned and the construction of the faces and bodies are particularly reminiscent of his style, and the Pre-Raphaelite influence remained clear in his later work.
In the 1860’s, trade links were reestablished with Japan. This led to the popularisation of Japanese art in Europe, especially woodcut prints known as Ukiyo-e. In 1891, Beardsley visited ‘the Peacock Room’ and this visit inspired him deeply. His style developed greatly after this and he began incorporating elements into his own work, using flat and empty backgrounds and patterns, along with precisely drawn figures and oriental motifs. Beardsley wrote in a letter to a friend ‘I struck for myself an entirely new method of drawing and composition, something suggestive of Japan ... The subjects were quite mad and a little indecent.’ Beardsley was becoming increasingly interested in the grotesque as well. Noticing Beardsley’s growing dissatisfaction with his work for ‘Le Morte D’Arthur,’ Dent invited him to create hundreds of small illustrations for his ‘Bon Mots and Grotesques’ series. This allowed him to refine his style more fully, exploring both the grotesque and his love for Ukiyo-e.
In 1892, Aubrey Beardsley created a drawing inspired by Oscar Wilde’s French play ‘Salome.’ Wilde admired it greatly and he and his publisher commissioned Beardsley to illustrate the English edition. His illustrations for ‘Salome’ allowed him great scope to explore sexuality, sensuality and death. He hid countless provocative elements, Lane stated that you’d have to look ‘under a microscope’ to find them all. He made Beardsley censor some of the most explicit and cut two designs completely. The illustration ‘Enter Herodius’ is a good example of how Beardsley liked to work for the ‘Salome’ illustrations. Although Lane made him censor the genitalia of the figure on the right with a fig leaf, Herodius’ breasts are exposed, as are the phallic candlesticks and the erection of the foetus-headed grotesque figure on the left. In the bottom left corner, a caricature of Wilde can be seen clutching a copy of ‘Salome’ while presenting his own play. The motif of a foetus was common in Beardsley’s work around this time. It isn’t clear exactly why he became obsessed with drawing women with foetuses, however, some speculate that, in the case of this play, he was drawing a link between sex and death through the secrets and dangers it can bring. In other contexts, it has been suggested that he uses the symbol of the foetus to express women who lack joy in motherhood, a role women were forced into at the time. Beardsley’s explicit exploration of the erotic and grotesque play off Victorian taboos. He deliberately provokes the public and mocks the prudishness of society at the time. The illustrations for ‘Salome’ also explore the growing concerns of the ‘New Woman.’ The depictions of Salome herself have masculine qualities. Her gestures and features are masculine and intended to be unattractive, her sexuality is calculated, and her motives are evil. This satirises how many Victorian men worried women would become if they were allowed to gain rights and act outside of Victorian standards. The increasing women's movements challenged male dominance, leading men to fear disruption of the social order. Beardsley encapsulates this in his creation of Salome as a monstrous woman.
In 1894, Beardsley became art editor for ‘The Yellow Book,’ a magazine publication intended to be more open to more avant-garde ideas. The tone was set for the contents immediately by the bright yellow of the cover, connoting the popular French erotic novels. Its’ compounding of art and literature, putting two art forms on an equal level propelled it to instant but controversial success. Much of the fame of ‘The Yellow Book’ can be attributed to Beardsley, however, like in previous commissions, Beardsley seemed to be trying to hide scandalous details whereas publisher John Lane tried to find and censor these details, suggesting that his initial intention wasn’t to scandalise Victorian society as Beardsley’s illustrations had done. The cover for the first volume of ‘The Yellow Book’ depicts two figures who, in keeping with his style, appear both lewd and sinister. Although the woman’s laughter suggests gaiety, the contrast with the low neckline and the males furtive expression suggests bacchanalian eroticism. Although it may not have been Lane’s direct intention, Beardsley aimed to be subversive from the outset. His contributions both gave ‘The Yellow Book’ its’ distinctive character, and established it as a symbol of decadence. However, the success of Beardsley and ‘The Yellow Book’ was short-lived. In 1895, Oscar Wilde was tried and convicted of ‘gross indecency’ with men. Due to Beardsley and Wilde’s association due to their friendship, their shared opinions, and Beardsley’s work on ‘Salome’, Beardsley’s reputation was ruined. What really brought him down, however, was that when Wilde was arrested, he was reported to have been carrying ‘The Yellow Book.’ Although he was, in fact, carrying a French erotic novel, the damage had already been done. There was public outcry and Lane fired Beardsley to attempt to save the reputation of the magazine. Having lost his income and reputation at 22, Beardsley sold his house and moved to Dieppe in France.
Dieppe was known for the abundance of English writers and artists and it wasn’t long before Beardsley met publisher and distributor of erotica, Leonard Smithers who suggested creating a rival magazine to ‘The Yellow Book’ entitled ‘The Savoy’. With Arthur Symons in charge of literature, Smithers as publisher, and Beardsley as art editor, it was published in 1896. It was, similarly to ‘The Yellow Book’, taken as an affront to morality and labelled as “a manifesto in revolt against Victorian materialism.” This is particularly visible in one of Beardsley’s prospective covers for an edition of ‘The Savoy’ in which he depicts the image of John Bull representing the established Victorian artist. He is pictured on stage, presenting what seems to be a new art movement while disdaining to look at the audience. Although it was originally published as a quarterly, Smithers made the decision after two issues to publish it monthly instead. This led to a strain on his resources, causing ‘The Savoy’ to fail in a year, with just 8 copies published. He is arrogant and pompous, with a hidden erection. Along with displaying his self confidence, this could also hint at the lack of Victorian morality even the more prestigious artists had. Despite its controversial nature, it was still recognised as one of the most beautifully produced ‘little magazines’ of the period. The British reception to the magazine hadn’t been good. After Wilde’s trial, there was a rise in social and artistic conservatism and many booksellers such as W.H. Smith refused to display anything associated with Beardsley. Poet W.B. Yeats, who had worked with ‘The Savoy’ declared that the magazine had waged “warfare on the British public at a time when we had all against us.”
Smithers also hired Beardsley to illustrate Alexander Pope’s ‘The Rape of the Lock’ in 1896 and Gautier’s ‘Mademoiselle de Maupin’ in 1897. He was nearing the end of his life and his health was in rapid decline, yet he continued to experiment with his style. His illustrations for ‘The Rape of the Lock’ were extremely intricate and detailed wit extremely thin lines and cross hatching inspired by 18th century French copper plate engravings, which Beardsley admired and collected. In the ‘Mademoiselle de Maupin’ illustrations, Beardsley used watercolour to create a softer, more decorative style. Gautier promoted the idea of ‘art for art’s sake’ which would become the doctrine for the aesthetic movement of art and was something Beardsley and the decadents believed in greatly.
Beardsley suffered a severe lung haemorrhage in 1896, so, painfully aware of his own mortality began moving around in an attempt to find ‘healthy air’ that the doctors recommended. While recovering in the south of England, Beardsley began to create some of his most explicit images yet. He created 8 drawings for ‘The Lysistrata of Aristophanes,’ an Ancient Greek comedy in which the women refuse to have sex with the men until the men end the war and there is peace, and another set for Juvenal’s ‘Sixth Satire,’ a misogynistic verse about the morals of Roman women. These drawings link to the theme of the male vice, something Beardsley had often explored in the past, through males lusting over wealth, women or power and all of which explore the ugliness of its consequences. In ‘Juvenal Scourging Women,’ a woman is pictured impaled on a shaft. Not only is this suggestive of sexual brutality against women, but also the idea of putting women on display. She is depicted tied to the pole, suggesting her being objectified and being put there against her will. He seems to be criticising the objectification of women, recognising that it will lead to violence against them. He also depicts women openly taking control over their bodies and sexuality. This is most obvious in his drawing ‘Two Athenian Women in Distress’ in which two women have full and unashamed control over their sexual needs. Beardsley’s style in these illustrations are linear and flat, reminiscent of Ancient Greek vases and erotic Japanese prints. The overt ‘indecency’ of these drawings meant that they were disallowed under the censorship law, therefore it is highly unlikely that many of his contemporaries would have seen them. Smithers made these illustrations available to a select group of like-minded collectors.
Beardsley had second thoughts after converting to Catholicism as he neared his death, imploring Smithers to destroy his “obscene drawings,” however Smithers ignored this request. Beardsley’s moving from place to place in his final years inspired him greatly and he took up a habit of enthusiastically picking up new projects which would later be abandoned. However, he kept drawing until his death in 1898 when he was only 25 years old. Despite only having produced 6 years of work, the impact it has had has continued to this day, with his popularity experiencing many revivals, especially in the sixties. Beardsley became an icon for subversion and individuality and he has inspired countless artists over the years.
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