Illustrator, Caricaturist, b. 1872 - d. 1898

Aubrey Beardsley was an English illustrator, caricaturist and author who lived from 1872 to 1898. Considered controversial during his time, Beardsley's drawings often critiqued Victorian concepts of sexuality, gender roles and beauty. Although his career was short-lived due to tuberculosis, he illustrated books for prominent figures and saw widespread circulation of his work before his death.

About Aubrey Beardsley

• Name: Aubrey Beardsley


• Alias: Aubrey Vincent Beardsley


• Profession: Illustrator, caricaturist, author, b. 1872 - d. 1898


• Nationality: English

Biography

Aubrey Beardsley was an English illustrator and caricaturist of the 1890s Aesthetic movement. Inspired by the curvilinear style of Art Nouveau and Japanese woodcut design elements, Beardsley began drawing as a child and attended the Westminster School of Art. It was during this time that he shared his work with the esteemed artist Edward Burne-Jones, who served as a mentor and inspiration to Beardsley.

Throughout the 1890s, he illustrated work for Thomas Malory and Oscar Wilde and served as an illustrator and art editor for The Yellow Book, a quarterly London art magazine. His illustrations centered on beauty, sensuality and morbid eroticism, emphasizing his fascination with grotesque and taboo topics.

Between his controversial art and affiliation with Wilde, Beardsley was dismissed from The Yellow Book. In 1896, he created a rival periodical, The Savoy, with London publisher Leonard Smithers and fellow artist Arthur Symons. Additionally, he illustrated several more books and penned a few poems before his death from tuberculosis in 1898.

Today, his work is displayed in the Tate Gallery and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Related Styles

• Aestheticism


• Art nouveau


• Classicism


• Graphic art

Highlights and Achievements

• Beardsley became one of the most famous artists of his generation in England following his illustrations of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur in 1893, where his bold and provocative style captured the public's imagination and solidified his reputation as a leading young artist.


• He influenced public opinion about art and advertising in the essay The Art of the Hoarding.


• He was responsible for an illustrated edition of the Greek erotic play Lysistrata.

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