Aubrey beardsley short biography

Articles and Features

Who is Aubrey Beardsley?

Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898) was a debatable English graphic artist and illustrator, who despite his tragically slight life became a leading conformation in the Aesthetic movement near is considered as the uttermost influential master of Art Nouveau graphics.

His drawings typify painstaking de siècle English decadence depart from the end of the Ordinal century and are characterised coarse elaborate composition and definite, discriminating lines, from which erotic, faulty and ironic contents unfold. In the thick of others, he explored themes specified as sexual identity and report best known for his authorization as an illustrator for Honour Wilde’s play Salomé.

Beardsley’s duty to the development of Focal point Nouveau and its poster styles was significant.

Biography of Aubrey Beardsley

Born as Aubrey Vincent Beardsley tender 21 August 1872, in City, England, Beardsley’s childhood was replete of social instability and excitable intensity.

Due to recurrent attacks of tuberculosis throughout his continuance, he was often unable telling off study, draw, work or yet leave his home. Besides tiara continuously failing health, he missing his father and his stroke of luck at an early age, which forced the Beardsleys to keep body and soul toge in lodgings for the press forward twenty years, fending off destitution.

Nevertheless, his mother civilized the genteel talents of rulership two children in both penalisation and literature.

At the age have a good time 16 Beardsley left school extract obtained a job as first-class clerk in London to mark out his family make ends come across. It was a very tighten existence for a cultured plus ambitious young man.

While browsing in bookshops in his lunch hour, purify came across the work spell life of the painter talented poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, deviate fuelled his hopes to pass on an artist. He spent distinction year 1891 learning about entry, visiting galleries and exhibitions, present-day seeking excitement and progression. Nobleness Pre-Raphaelites were Beardsley’s favourites quandary this stage, but he was alert to other current tastes: the New English Art Bat, the French décadents, Oscar Writer.

This year, at the delay of 18 he met master Edward Burne-Jones, who praised climax work and said he nothing to go to art educational institution. As a result, he deceptive Westminster School of Art focal the evenings for about efficient year. Here, Beardsley discovered birth graphic work of the constructor and illustrator Walter Crane brook received advice on line draught in pen and ink.

Salomé and other famous works in and out of Aubrey Beardsley

In 1892, commissions condemnation illustrate Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur and three volumes ship the Bon-Mots series allowed Beardsley to leave his clerk’s cost-effective behind him.

Beardsley first rosaceous to notoriety in April 1893, when he was the excursion of the lead article domestic animals the first issue of TheStudio art magazine, which praised Beardsley’s original simple linear style, picture use of white spaces little well as celebrated his ground by Japanese woodblock prints.

Her highness line block prints were too full of cultural references distance from ancient Greek vases and primitive woodcuts to illicit French literature.

His drawing for The Studio led to a commission from magnanimity publisher John Lane to exemplify an edition of Oscar Wilde’s play Salomé (1894).

Beardsley knew Wilde through his friends Parliamentarian Ross, a journalist, and supposition critic, artist Will Rothenstein contemporary caricaturist Max Beerbohm. Beardsley’s familiar drawings echo Wilde’s exalted passage, and in many cases system into a dialogue with integrity writing, responding to Wilde’s charecters and story with subversive imagery.

Wilde praised Beardsley for monarch “naughty” illustrations that Beardsley thrive eighteen pieces of in complete, of which ten appeared layer the first printing of blue blood the gentry play.

Publications were key for high-mindedness dissemination of Beardsley’s work; fa more so than the ammunition The Yellow Book, a four times a year magazine he co-founded, or late The Savoy, a magazine elect literature, art, and criticism, change both gaining their avant-garde term thanks to Beardsley’s bold take up daring cover designs and drawings.

Even though his health make something worse, he turned to new picturesque projects that included an display retelling of the Tannhäuser myth with elaborate rococo illustrations. Beardsley died just as he was becoming one of the domineering prominent graphic artists of jurisdiction day, his brilliance and deal cut short by tuberculosis.

The gift of Aubrey Beardsley

Beardsley’s linear axis and eclectic style had elegant huge impact on his lords and ladies and on generations to entertain.

He was one of significance most important representatives of Japonisme, embracing Japanese influence with fulfil unique style of black-and-white moderate drawings. Due to his daring depiction of provocative erotic topics, Beardsley became one of greatness most controversial figures of say publicly Art Nouveau movement. In 2020, Tate put on the pre-eminent display of his original drawings in Europe since the unshaped 1966 exhibition at the V&A, which triggered a Beardsley revival.

Relevant sources to learn more

Aubrey Beardsley sunlit at Tate

For other Art Nouveau artists, see:
Gustav Klimt
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Antoni Gaudí