Aubrey Beardsley dress peacock description. Paintings, graphics by Aubrey Beardsley. last photo of Aubrey Beardsley

The name of the English graphic artist Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) is known to many art lovers. The "Berdsley" type of female beauty he created and his refined drawings with a bizarre play of lines and combinations of black and white spots, bearing the imprint of medieval European miniatures and Japanese engravings, became a symbol of Art Nouveau at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was born in Brighton, England on August 21, 1872. His father was from a family of London jewelers, and his mother was from respectable doctors. The artist's father, Vincent Paul Beardsley, had tuberculosis. The disease was hereditary, so he could not do full-time work. In addition, he was distinguished by frivolity and soon after the wedding he squandered all the family money. Mother Beardsley, nee Helen Agnus Pitt, had to be hired as a governess: she taught music and French. For Aubrey himself and his sister Mabel, their childhood years were remembered for their mother's constant struggle with numerous financial difficulties.

Beardsley realized early on the exclusivity of his position. When he was seven years old, it turned out that his father's disease was transmitted to his son. In our time, tuberculosis does not inspire such fear as at the end of the 19th century. For Beardsley, the disease meant that he could die unpredictably early and quickly. He, being still very young, understood this all too well. At school, Beardsley rarely participated in common games, he was exempted from physical exercises and hard tasks; he could always retire with a book, citing malaise.

Another passion of Beardsley was music. The early lessons that his mother gave him showed that he was endowed with an outstanding musical talent. Thanks to the support of several aristocratic families, Beardsley worked hard with famous pianists, improving his skills, at the age of 11 he was already giving concerts in public, composing music that was distinguished by a peculiar grace rare for such an age. Many prophesied a good future for Aubrey.

Although Beardsley always cherished his reputation as a music lover, a bibliophile, a brilliant connoisseur of the collections of the British Museum and the National Gallery, it was the drawing that was the true passion that either filled him with frenzied energy, or threw him into a maelstrom of melancholy and depression. Such a change of state is characteristic of many patients with tuberculosis, and Beardsley understood that this shortens his days.

In 1892, Beardsley had a rare luck for a young unknown artist: he was commissioned to make illustrations for Melory's The Death of King Arthur. From this publication and participation in the issues of the art magazine "Savoy" began his professional career.

As an artist, Beardsley was initially influenced by William Moriss and Burne-Jones, whom he subjectively considered "the greatest artist in Europe." Much more important was the study of Japanese engravings with the harmony of line and spot. Deep penetration into the traditions of Japanese art allowed him to create an amazing synthesis of west and east in his own drawings.

In his art, this artist always remained himself and never adjusted to fashion trends. Rather, Art Nouveau and the English decadent movement were oriented, drawn to his level. It was Beardsley who influenced the formation of the pictorial language of Art Nouveau.

A certain pathological nature of many of Beardsley's drawings is explained to some extent by the fact that he always stood, as it were, on the edge of an abyss: on the one hand, the light of life, on the other, on the other, the abyss of nothingness. Constantly balancing between them, he felt them well. Beardsley seemed to live in his own time and outside it. This contributed to detached observation.Beardsley's drawings made contemporaries literally numb. They inspired fear and awe. It seemed to many that the old ideas about art and the world as a whole were crumbling.

Shortly before his death, Beardsley was seized by a deep religiosity, he bitterly repented of his erotic works. Already bedridden, in a letter to L. Mirtes he asked to destroy all "indecent" drawings and engraving boards to them.
Aubrey Beardsley died in the resort of Menton, France, on the Mediterranean coast in 1898, at the age of twenty-five.

I posted here the most decent of his work)) But all of his work is easy to find in Google. In a very similar manner (hard erotica) the Austrian artist von Bayros also painted. It is already harder to find him, but the work of study is even better than Beardsley (and more vulgar))

Le Morte Darthur. Death of Arthur

Salome

Twenty years of research into the work of a British artist with travels around the world - and Professor of English at Morehouse College in Atlanta Linda Gertner Zatlin presents in the US a two-volume edition of "Aubrey Beardsley: an organized catalog".

The keynote of the study is that although Beardsley is widely known for his explicit portrayals of erotic and physiological fantasies, he is much more versatile than is commonly believed, says Dr. Zatlin. And, revealing facts and new information about the illustrations, she proves this thesis.


Aubrey Beardsley. Climax. Illustration for Oscar Wilde's play "Salome"
Climax. Illustration for the play "Salome" by Oscar Wilde. 1893

“The artist’s father, Vincent, worked in the office of a London brewery, and his mother was a governess, taught French and piano. The family constantly wandered from one furnished room to another ... ”- the updated details of Beardsley’s biography are set out in a two-volume edition. The author traveled around the countries, checking and comparing facts, worked in archives and studied documents from private collections.

Aubrey Beardsley (1872 - 1898) realized at an early age that he would have a short life. The boy was only seven years old when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1879. He began to draw at about the same age, and, trying to learn more about his illness, he reviewed a lot of medical literature with anatomical details ... The boy studied at a boarding school - his sketches of classmates, made on name cards as a gift to friends, have been preserved. He illustrated programs for school theater productions and for home performances, which he played with his sister Mabel. By the way, even then he began to earn money with his art, receiving orders.

Aubrey Beardsley. self-portrait

After graduating from high school, Beardsley studied art while working as a clerk for surveyors and insurance agents. By the age of 20, he is already a well-known artist, a friend of Oscar Wilde. Tuberculous hemorrhages at that time put him out of action for months. Beardsley described himself as "hideously built, stooping and shuffling, with a sallow face, sunken eyes and long red hair". In recent years, he begged his publisher to destroy "obscene" drawings, and in the year of his death, Beardsley wrote to a friend that he regretted not being able to complete the "beautiful things" he wanted.

Flutist from Hammeln. Illustration for the school play program
Aubrey Beardsley. 1888

Aubrey Beardsley, The Toilet of Salome II (1893)

Aubrey Beardsley, The Toilet of Salome I (1893)

Linda Gertner Zatlin counted about 400 original works by Beardsley, which are now lost, but are mentioned in documents or survived in reproductions.

Aubrey Beardsley, Oscar Wilde at Work

Aubrey Beardsley, Savoy magazine cover

“Dr. Zatlin also identified many fakes. At least one of Beardsley's friends made and sold fakes even during the life of the artist ... "

Beardsley was also a freelance magazine illustrator, drawing for Wilde's writings, Arthurian legends, Greek dramas and 18th century one-liners. He painted portraits, designed posters and even… sewing machines. From time to time the artist depicted hermaphrodites and freaks. As an editor noted in 1895, Beardsley "passionately wants to surprise the public with something unexpected."

Aubrey Beardsley, The Platonic Lament (1893)

He was treated with mercury and antimony and died at the age of 26 on the French Riviera in the arms of his mother and sister.

In her catalog, Linda Gertner Zatlin corrected many of the mistakes that the artist's biographies are full of. Even his mother Ellen made mistakes when talking about her son's life and work. Little about his work is reflected in the correspondence. “He is so impenetrable…” the researcher complains.

Aubrey Beardsley. Venus between the terminals of the Gods

Dr. Zatlin (Linda Gertner Zatlin) believes that constant drawing helped Beardsley to distract from thoughts about his health. This becomes clear from the line [in the letter]: "if I think about it, I'm going to die faster." In 1936, the critic J. Lewis May wrote that the artist seemed to "consist of atoms moving at such incredible speed that the illusion of absolute calmness was created."

All known correspondence of Aubrey Beardsley will be published in the next few years.

Aubrey Beardsley, The Peacock Dress (1893)

Aubrey Beardsley, The Black Cape (1893)

The professor visited the places where Beardsley lived and worked, in the institutions where his drawings are kept, studied the treasuries of private collectors and spoke with the descendants of people who knew the artist, including Merlin Holland, the grandson of Oscar Wilde. He helped decipher the Victorian floral symbolism in the artwork: vines signify drunkenness, water lilies signify a pure heart, and sunflowers signify adoration.

Aubrey Beardsley, Abbé Fanfrelush (1895)

Linda Gertner Zatlin counted about 400 original works by Beardsley, which are now lost, but are mentioned in documents or survived in reproductions. Apparently, his notebooks, which his sister saved, also disappeared. One series of drawings was destroyed in a fire in 1929, and 118 letters have yet to be found. All known correspondence will be published in the next few years.

In addition, it became clear that the early art historians who studied Beardsley did not subject the facts to thorough verification. “Leave it alone, no one will be interested in this,” one scientist replied to his colleague when he asked how to refine the details.

Dr. Zatlin has also identified many forgeries. At least one of Beardsley's friends made and sold fakes even during the artist's lifetime.

Aubrey Beardsley, How Arthur Met the Roaring Beast

The book also contains a list of prices at which works were sold at auctions.

In 2012, the Princeton University Library bought a copy of Stefan Mallarme's poem with Beardsley's marginal sketches at Bonhams in London for about $24,000. Dr. Zatlin also documented her own acquisitions. Among them - a drawing of a pianist at the pond in the open air (34.5 thousand dollars in 2004 at the Neal auction); a collective portrait of robed choir artists in a London theater (about $5,000 at a Ketterer Kunst auction in 2006); red chalk portrait of actress Gabrielle Réjan ($55,000 at Christie's in 2015).

Aubrey Beardsley, The Singer

Dr. Linda Gertner Zatlin said that with her book she created a kind of "permanent home" for Beardsley, who spent much of his life in rented apartments.

Aubrey Beardsley, The Funeral of Salome. The final"

Aubrey Beardsley or Beardsley (August 21, 1872, Brighton, Sussex - March 16, 1898, Menton, France) - English graphic artist, illustrator, decorator, poet, one of the most prominent representatives of English aestheticism and Art Nouveau of the 1890s.

Biography of Aubrey Beardsley

His father was from a family of London jewelers, and his mother was from a family of respectable doctors. The artist's father, Vincent Paul Beardsley, had tuberculosis. The disease was hereditary, so he could not do full-time work.

Aubrey himself very early realized the exclusivity of his position. When he was seven years old, he already knew that his father's illness had passed on to his son. In the 19th century, they still did not know how to deal with this terrible disease, so Beardsley from early childhood understood only too well that he could die unpredictably early and quickly.

Since childhood, Beardsley began to write poetry, learn to play the piano - and soon organized his "circle of admirers of talent", which later included the famous Oscar Wilde. Thanks to the friendly support of several aristocratic families, Beardsley is intensively developing his outstanding artistic, poetic and musical talent and soon begins to perform publicly as a pianist, giving concerts. In addition, many of his poetic compositions, despite the young age of the author, are already distinguished by a kind of grace, the embodiment of a subtle and deep knowledge of the works of their predecessors - after all, thanks to his mother, Beardsley knew English and French literature already at a young age.

Creativity Beardsley

The phenomenon of Beardsley has no analogues in the history of European fine art, although, by the evil irony of Fate, the brilliant artist was "released" only five years of active creative work.

It seemed that Beardsley had no chance of becoming a professional artist, because he did not attend art schools, did not write a single large (in terms of scale) painting, did not even have a solo exhibition during his lifetime.

Most of his works were book illustrations or drawings. Nevertheless, Beardsley is an amazing and mysterious phenomenon of art and the human spirit.

As an artist, Aubrey was initially influenced by William Morris and Burne-Jones - the latter he subjectively considered "the greatest artist in Europe." But their graphic style was too languid and weak for the temperamental Aubrey. Much more important was the study of Japanese prints, with their harmony of line and spot. Deep penetration into the traditions of Japanese art allowed him to create an amazing synthesis of West and East in his own drawings.

In one of his letters he reflected: “How little the importance of the line is now understood! It was this sense of line that distinguished the old masters from the modern ones. It seems that today's artists are striving to achieve harmony in color alone.

True, the posters of Beardsley himself prove that he was a gifted and original colorist, close to Bonnard and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Masterfully virtuoso line of Beardsley, playing with black and white spots of silhouettes, literally in a year or two made him a world famous artist.

In his art, Beardsley always remained himself and never adjusted to the fashion trends of the time. Rather, on the contrary - the movement of the English decadents and "art nouveau" was focused on his work - thus, it was Beardsley who influenced the formation of the pictorial language of the Art Nouveau style.

Since April 1894, Beardsley begins to collaborate with The Yellow Book magazine and soon becomes its art editor. Here, his drawings, essays, and poems began to appear in large numbers.

Under the influence of Beardsley, a homoerotic orientation of the magazine developed, which gained quite definite scandalous fame.

The creative nature of genius is difficult to explain. Genius, abnormality and homosexuality, from the standpoint of everyday consciousness, are almost identical. A certain "pathology" of many of Beardsley's drawings is explained to some extent by the fact that he always stood, as it were, on the edge of an abyss: on the one hand, the light of life, on the other, the abyss of nothingness. Constantly balancing between these worlds, he felt them well.

Beardsley seemed to live in his time and out of it. This contributed to detached observation.

Better than anyone, he knew the answer to the question: “What can only I do and no one else?” He didn't have time to deal with minor topics. splurge on artistic trifles. Like Zarathustra, he wrote with his own blood. “And whoever writes in blood and parables does not want to be read, but memorized.”

Beardsley's drawings made contemporaries literally numb. They inspired fear and awe. It seemed to many that the old idea of ​​art and the world as a whole was collapsing.

Artist's work

• Peacock skirt
• love note
• Pierrot Library
• spleen cave

Bibliography

• Sidorov A.A. The Art of Beardsley, M., 1926
• Beardsley O. Drawings. Prose. Poetry. Aphorisms. Letters. Memoirs and articles about Beardsley / Introductory article, album project, compilation, preparation of texts and notes by A. Basmanov. - M.: Igra-technique, 1992. - 288 p. ISBN 5-900360-03-2
• Masterpieces of graphics. Aubrey Beardsley. - M.: Eksmo, 2007.
• Weintraub St., Beardsley, Harmondsworth, 1972

When writing this article, materials from such sites were used:peoples.ru

If you find any inaccuracies or wish to supplement this article, please send us information to the email address [email protected] site, we and our readers will be very grateful to you.

The brilliant English artist, musician, poet Aubrey Beardsley lived a short life - he died at the age of twenty-five - but until now his art remains unsurpassed, unique. The era of the late XIX - early XX centuries, like a "horn of plenty", gave the world a huge number of geniuses with non-traditional sexual orientation - Eric Satie, Oscar Wilde, Claude Debussy, Sergei Diaghilev, Pierre Luy, Jean-Arthur Rimbaud, etc. - who have made an invaluable creative contribution to the development of art. To this number one can safely rank Aubrey Beardsley - the "genius of miniature", who had a huge impact on all the art of the Art Nouveau style.

The phenomenon of Beardsley has no analogues in the history of European fine art, although, by the evil irony of Fate, the brilliant artist was "released" only five years of active creative work. It seemed that Beardsley had no chance of becoming a professional artist, because he did not attend art schools, did not write a single large (in terms of scale) painting, did not even have a solo exhibition during his lifetime. Most of his works were book illustrations or drawings. Nevertheless, Beardsley is an amazing and mysterious phenomenon of art and the human spirit.

His father was from a family of London jewelers, and his mother was from a family of respectable doctors. The artist's father, Vincent Paul Beardsley, had tuberculosis. The disease was hereditary, so he could not do full-time work. Aubrey himself very early realized the exclusivity of his position. When he was seven years old, he already knew that his father's illness had passed on to his son. In the 19th century, they still did not know how to deal with this terrible disease, so Beardsley from early childhood understood only too well that he could die unpredictably early and quickly.

Since childhood, Beardsley began to write poetry, learn to play the piano - and soon organized his "circle of admirers of talent", which later included the famous Oscar Wilde. Thanks to the friendly support of several aristocratic families, Beardsley is intensively developing his outstanding artistic, poetic and musical talent and soon begins to perform publicly as a pianist, giving concerts. In addition, many of his poetic compositions, despite the young age of the author, are already distinguished by a kind of grace, the embodiment of a subtle and deep knowledge of the works of their predecessors - after all, thanks to his mother, Beardsley knew English and French literature already at a young age.

All these brilliant inclinations, alas, were not destined to develop, thanks to an ever-progressing disease, the symptoms of which made themselves felt year after year. The feeling of death standing behind him relentlessly made him live as if every day could be his last. Although Beardsley always cherished his reputation as a music lover, a bibliophile, a brilliant connoisseur of the collections of the British Museum and the National Gallery, but only the drawing was that genuine passion that either filled him with frantic energy, or threw him into a maelstrom of blues and depression. Such a change of states is characteristic of many patients with tuberculosis, and Beardsley understood that this shortens his already few days.

As an artist, Aubrey was initially influenced by William Morris and Burne-Jones - the latter he subjectively considered "the greatest artist in Europe." But their graphic style was too languid and weak for the temperamental Aubrey. Much more important was the study of Japanese prints, with their harmony of line and spot. Deep penetration into the traditions of Japanese art allowed him to create an amazing synthesis of West and East in his own drawings. In one of his letters, he reflected: “How little the importance of line is now understood! It was this sense of line that distinguished the old masters from the modern ones. True, the posters of Beardsley himself prove that he was a gifted and original colorist, close to Bonnard and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Masterfully virtuoso line of Beardsley, playing with black and white spots of silhouettes, literally in a year or two made him a world famous artist.

As a great playwright, Beardsley "arranged" the figures on the "stage" of his drawings, creating the so-called mise-en-scenes, in which the most important, key phrases should be uttered. There are no minor elements in these drawings - only the most essential, the main one. In his art, the “detail” is striking as a given, which he especially emphasized, made unforgettable, forced to become a symbol.

In his art, Beardsley always remained himself and never adjusted to the fashion trends of the time. Rather, on the contrary - the movement of the English decadents and "art nouveau" was focused on his work - thus, it was Beardsley who influenced the formation of the pictorial language of the Art Nouveau style.

From April 1894, Beardsley began to collaborate with The Yellow Book magazine and soon became its art editor. Here, his drawings, essays, and poems began to appear in large numbers. Under the influence of Beardsley, a homoerotic orientation of the magazine developed, which gained quite definite scandalous fame.

Old stiff England has never seen anything like it. The audience was excited, everyone was waiting for the explosion, and it soon happened. In April 1895, Oscar Wilde was arrested and taken into custody on charges of homosexuality. Newspapers reported that Wilde took with him gloves, a cane and The Yellow Book when he went to jail. An unfortunate misunderstanding was made in the printing house: a reporter who was present at the arrest at the Cadogen Hotel wrote that it was "A Yellow Book", i.e. "yellow book", not a magazine: "The Yellow Book", Oscar Wilde, by the way, put Pierre Luy's "Aphrodite" under his armpit. But the indignant crowds moved to the magazine's office, smashed all the windows there, demanding that the magazine be closed immediately. Beardsley had to say goodbye to "The Yellow Book" forever.

Note that "The Yellow Book" was not the only magazine with a homoerotic focus. "Harpers", "Atlantic Mansley" published similar stories, drawings, articles, etc. But Beardsley's talent as an artist and editor made the magazine an outstanding event in the cultural life of England. Therefore, attention to the magazine was much closer. Wilde himself, however, did not like "The Yellow Book", never wrote for him, although he had been friends with Aubrey Beardsley for a long time. Beardsley also made excellent illustrations for Wilde's "Salome", which largely determined the success of the book.

As a result, Beardsley was left without a livelihood for some time. At one time he worked as an art editor for the Savoy magazine, doing odd jobs, until a new acquaintance, Leonard Smithers, persuaded Beardsley to illustrate Juvenal and Aristophanes. The venture was risky and was intended only for private or underground publications. Many contemporary critics consider these drawings to be the best of Beardsley's work.

The creative nature of genius is difficult to explain. Genius, abnormality and homosexuality, from the standpoint of everyday consciousness, are almost identical. A certain "pathology" of many of Beardsley's drawings is explained to some extent by the fact that he always stood, as it were, on the edge of an abyss: on the one hand, the light of life, on the other, the abyss of nothingness. Constantly balancing between these worlds, he felt them well. Beardsley seemed to live in his time and out of it. This contributed to detached observation. Better than anyone, he knew the answer to the question: "What can only I do and no one else?" He didn't have time to deal with minor topics. splurge on artistic trifles. Like Zarathustra, he wrote with his own blood. "And whoever writes in blood and parables, he does not want to be read, but memorized."

Beardsley's drawings made contemporaries literally numb. They inspired fear and awe. It seemed to many that the old idea of ​​art and the world as a whole was collapsing.

Like a true genius, Beardsley led the life of his heroes in his drawings - he identified himself with them, imbued with their psychology, characters, morals. This is the only way to create real masterpieces. But the increased interest in hermaphrodites, the eroticism of the drawings, the absolute looseness of self-expression served as the basis for many speculations. Rumor accused Beardsley of homosexuality, in a vicious relationship with his own sister, in sophisticated debauchery. There are enough examples in the history of art when genius was mistaken for pathology. A genius is often drawn to new, unexpected, and even taboo topics. In a short time, Bedsley managed to create a new, hitherto unknown world, and this world of amazing images already exists independently of the creator.

Shortly before his death, already bedridden, Beardsley addressed in his letter to L. Smithers with a request to destroy all "indecent drawings" and engraving boards for them. Aubrey Beardsley died in the resort of Menton in France, off the Mediterranean coast in 1898, at the age of twenty-five.

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley's friendship and collaboration with publisher John Lane was highly fruitful. On the initiative of the latter, the famous suite of drawings was created for the most scandalous of the poetic dramas of Oscar Wilde (Oscar Fingal O "Flahertie Wilde, 1854-1900)" Salome ".

The story of the princess who danced naked in front of King Herod Antipas and demanded, at the instigation of her mother Herodias, the head of John the Baptist, was told by the evangelists Matthew and Mark. The evangelists, however, do not mention the name of Salome; their story is very concise. “During the celebration of the birthday of Herod,” says Matthew, “the daughter of Herodias danced in front of the assembly and pleased Herod, therefore, with an oath, he promised to give her whatever she asked. She, at the instigation of her mother, said: give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist” (Matthew 14:6-8).

Under the pen of Oscar Wilde, the story of Salome turned into a drama of great passions. Interest in this work was fueled by a stage production with the brilliant Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923). In the spring of 1895, she toured London, and Aubrey Beardsley, of course, attended these performances. “Sarah's first evening,” he wrote to one of his friends, “was a huge success. I have never seen such a reception. She played great."

Around the drama itself, and especially the illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, which give an erotic commentary to it, an atmosphere of scandal was escalated. If in the illustrations for The Death of Arthur the landscape played an important role, against which the characters acted, then the characters in the illustrations for Salome seem to float in the air: there is neither landscape nor interior. Exquisite ladies, dressed or undressed as was customary at the end of the 19th century, bear little resemblance to New Testament heroines. The belly dance that Salome - bare-breasted and in transparent pantaloons - performs in front of King Herod, was peeped at nightly cabarets in Paris. Her dresses decorated with peacock feathers and wide-brimmed hats are the latest in Parisian fashion.

However, Salome accompanies in her shameless dance a completely fantastic creature - a dwarf with a protruding tongue and standing on end hair. And the head of John the Baptist, received by Salome as a reward for the dance, looks more like a woman than a man. Beardsley's drawings do not include a beard, which is due to the Forerunner according to the laws of Christian iconography, and spacious clothes made of camel's hair, girded with a belt. And in general, this stern prophet, depicted in one of the drawings in full growth, is more reminiscent of a pampered London dandy.

“In the illustrations for Salome, [Beardsley] used to the end the new convention that he created for himself: taken together, these drawings are his masterpiece. In all modern art there is nothing equal to them. One can trace the origins, find out from where they developed, but nothing can be found with which to compare them; they are certainly one of a kind,” Robert Baldwin Ross, the artist’s first biographer and allegedly an intimate friend of Oscar Wilde, wrote in 1898.

This work by Aubrey Beardsley enriched and greatly expanded the possibilities of classical pen drawing. “If there are flaws in the drawings for Salome,” continues Robert Ross, “it’s only in the fact that the structure of the drawings seems to require a different material than pen and ink ... They are rather minted than drawn, and could safely serve mottos for panels of a wooden cabinet, for Limoges or Oriental enamel. In Beardsley's Salome lie the origins of decadence, which played such a prominent role in the life of society at the beginning of the 20th century, including in Russia.

The scandalous fame of the drawings for Salome did not affect the artist in the slightest. He was indifferent to the abusive attacks of angry criticism. In May 1895 he wrote to one of his correspondents, whom he respectfully referred to as "dear Mentor": besides, I do not for a moment regret my drawings for Salome.

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was born in Brighton, England on August 21, 1872. His father was from a family of London jewelers, and his mother was from respectable doctors. The artist's father, Vincent Paul Beardsley, had tuberculosis. The disease was hereditary, so he could not do full-time work. In addition, he was distinguished by frivolity and soon after the wedding he squandered all the family money. Mother Beardsley, nee Helen Agnus Pitt, had to be hired as a governess: she taught music and French. For Aubrey himself and his sister Mabel, their childhood years were remembered for their mother's constant struggle with numerous financial difficulties.

Beardsley realized early on the exclusivity of his position. When he was seven years old, it turned out that his father's disease was transmitted to his son. In our time, tuberculosis does not inspire such fear as at the end of the 19th century. For Beardsley, the disease meant that he could die unpredictably early and quickly. He, being still very young, understood this all too well. At school, Beardsley rarely participated in common games, he was exempted from physical exercises and hard tasks; he could always retire with a book, citing malaise. Books became his best friends. Thanks to his mother, Aubrey knew English and French literature very well at a young age. He began to compose poetry early, and his passion for the theater led Beardsley to write plays as well. Some of them were staged first at home, and then at school. Beardsley himself played in them. Sometimes up to three thousand spectators gathered for such, in general, children's performances. Aubrey was excellent on the stage and could captivate a large audience.

Another passion of Beardsley was music. The early lessons that his mother gave him showed that he was endowed with an outstanding musical talent. Thanks to the support of several aristocratic families, Beardsley worked hard with famous pianists, improving his skills, at the age of 11 he was already giving concerts in public, composing music that was distinguished by a peculiar grace rare for such an age. Many prophesied a good future for Aubrey.

All these brilliant inclinations were not destined to develop. After leaving school, Beardsley got a job as a clerk in one of the offices in London. Less than a year later, at the end of 1889, he began to cough up blood and was forced to quit his job: from now on, only art filled his life. The feeling of death standing behind my back made me live as if every day could be my last.

Although Beardsley always cherished his reputation as a music lover, a bibliophile, a brilliant connoisseur of the collections of the British Museum and the National Gallery, it was the drawing that was the true passion that either filled him with frenzied energy, or threw him into a maelstrom of melancholy and depression. Such a change of state is characteristic of many patients with tuberculosis, and Beardsley understood that this shortens his days.

In 1892, Beardsley had a rare luck for a young unknown artist: he was commissioned to make illustrations for Melory's The Death of King Arthur. From this publication and participation in the issues of the art magazine "Savoy" began his professional career.

As an artist, Beardsley was initially influenced by William Moriss and Burne-Jones, whom he subjectively considered "the greatest artist in Europe." But their graphic style was too languid and weak for the temperamental Beardsley. Much more important was the study of Japanese engravings with the harmony of line and spot. Deep penetration into the traditions of Japanese art allowed him to create an amazing synthesis of west and east in his own drawings.

In December 1892, Beardsley formulated his creative method: the fantastic impression of the drawing is achieved by a thin, virtuoso line, combined with large patches of solid black. Masterful, virtuoso line of Beardsley, playing with blue-black and white-white spots of silhouettes, in a year or two made him a world-famous artist.

Like a magnificent playwright, Beardsley arranged the figures in his drawings; he seemed to arrange the actors on the stage of the theater, creating mise-en-scenes, forcing them to pronounce the most important, key phrases.

In his art, this artist always remained himself and never adjusted to fashion trends. Rather, Art Nouveau and the English decadent movement were oriented, drawn to his level. It was Beardsley who influenced the formation of the pictorial language of Art Nouveau.

From April 1984, Beardsley began to collaborate with Yellow Book magazine and soon became its art editor. Beardsley's drawings, poems, and essays began to appear here. In addition, the magazine has acquired quite a certain notoriety because of its erotic orientation. "Yellow Book" was not the only magazine with this focus: "Harpers", "Atlantic Mansley" published similar stories, drawings, articles. But Beardsley's talent as an artist and editor made the Yellow Book an outstanding event in the cultural life of England. Good old England had never seen anything like it: attention to the magazine was too close, and the public was excitedly waiting for the explosion, which soon happened. The reason was the arrest of Beardsley's friend, the famous writer Oscar Wilde, to whom the artist had previously made excellent illustrations for Salome, which largely determined the success of the book. When Wilde was arrested on charges of homosexuality, a journalist mistakenly reported that the writer had taken one of the Yellow Books with him to his cell, which led to public outrage and demands to close the magazine. Beardsley had to say goodbye to his magazine forever.

As a result, the artist was left without a regular livelihood and was interrupted by odd jobs, until his new acquaintance Leonard Smithers convinced Beardsley to illustrate Juvenal and Aristophanes. Then this venture was risky and was intended only for private and underground publications, and today these illustrations by Beardsley, according to critics, are considered the best of everything done by the artist.

The creative nature of genius is hardly explainable. Genius and abnormality, from the standpoint of ordinary consciousness, are almost identical. A certain pathological nature of many of Beardsley's drawings is explained to some extent by the fact that he always stood, as it were, on the edge of an abyss: on the one hand, the light of life, on the other, on the other, the abyss of nothingness. Constantly balancing between them, he felt them well. Beardsley seemed to live in his own time and outside it. This contributed to detached observation.

Beardsley's drawings made contemporaries literally numb. They inspired fear and awe. It seemed to many that the old ideas about art and the world as a whole were crumbling. And it's natural. To whom, if not a genius, to find a new, unexpected and forbidden.

Shortly before his death, Beardsley was seized by a deep religiosity, he bitterly repented of his erotic works. Already bedridden, in a letter to L. Mirtes he asked to destroy all "indecent" drawings and engraving boards to them.

Aubrey Beardsley died in the resort of Menton, France, on the Mediterranean coast in 1898, at the age of twenty-five.