EXPO: Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898)

Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) was one of the most renowned artists of the late 19th century. He is associated with the Art Nouveau movement, which certainly affected him and on wich, in turn, he had a strong influence. At the same time, his drawings differ from the mainstream of art nouveau by their sinister qualities. They seldom aspire to the sense of languid elegance and « prettiness » of much art nouveau design, although Beardsley used and often inspired many of the sinuous art nouveau motifs.

Beardsley was pratically borm dying. He was diagnosed as tubercular before the age of ten, and by the time he had begun drawing illustrations professionally he was already subject to consumptive attacks. These steadily increased in frequency and severit, eventually restricted his life and movements entirely, so that the only activity on which he could expend any energy was his drawing.

This physical weakness perhaps explains why he remained a draughtsman and ilustrator throughout his very bref carreer. He did not have the energy to experiment much beyond the formulas of line and blocks of ink in which he usually worked (though there are a few drawings which work in wash and tone, and scattered uses of color). It is quite probable that his work would have continued developing beyond drawing had he ben physicaaly strong and healthy.

The drawings in this folio have been reproduced in the medium of woodcuts, hand-printed on Nepalese hand made paper. They generally follow a chronological order, thus giving some idea of the development of his technique and vision.