The Later Work of Aubrey Beardsley

by Aubrey Beardsley

The current popularity of the strange drawings of Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) marks the second apex of one of the most unusual careers in art history. Within two years after the publication of his first book of illustrations, Beardsley was the best-known artist in England. Just as swiftly, with the national outcry against Oscar Wilde, his career was over. At 26 he was dead.

He left behind a remarkable quantity of first-rate work. The book illustrations, the portraits, the illustrations and covers for "The Studio" and "The Yellow Book" magazines, the book plates and title pages - these are unforgettable creations of line and "black blots", masterpieces in a graphic technique that was genuinely original and that profoundly influenced the decorative arts throughout Europe for generations to follow.

This reprint of The Later Work of Aubrey Beardsley includes many of the title-pages, covers and ornaments for "The Yellow Book" as well as such famous pieces as "The Wagnerites", "La Dame aux Camelias", the Venus and Tannhauser drawings, the "Rape of Lock" series, and details from the eight "Lysistrata" drawings. It is basically a reproduction of the revised edition, but with many of the plates reprinted from a finer, earlier edition and with two color plates restored. All told, there are 174 different plates.

Printed one to a page and reproduced with brilliant clarity on heavy stock that minimizes show-through, this is a book to be welcomed not only by the growing number of Beardsley enthusiasts, but by everyone who cares about the modern history of the graphic arts.

Genres: Art, Reference, Nonfiction

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Highly individual black and white, often erotic drawings of British illustrator Aubrey Vincent Beardsley typified the art nouveau style.

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley identifies an English author. Japanese woodcuts influenced his executions in ink; he emphasized the grotesque, the decadent. This figure led in the aesthetic movement, which also included Oscar Wilde and James McNeill Whistler. Beardsley significantly contributed to the development of the poster movement despite the brevity of his career before tuberculosis caused his early death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_...

Reviews

[Jaimie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people consider Salome as Beardsley's pinnacle of artistic expression, but I'm hard pressed to consider anything but the Rape of the Lock as his most intense work. His characterization is perfection - from the period clothing to the livid facial expressions - and the variance of detail is nothing less than superb.

The rest of the collection is a bit of a let-down though. Beardsley's skill doesn't diminish, but I found the abundance of decorative work (covers, bookplates, etc) to be a touch blasé.

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful and strange collection of Aubrey's whose career in the art world was a spark of sudden light that died out just as quickly (died at the age of 26). Some of his works are reproduced here from the original plates, including never before published work.
While Aubrey's work is unusual, there is a simplicity to his work that is filled with detail (i think I said that correctly). One of my favorite is a picture of Pam reading to a lady on a grassy knoll, easy to look at and yet filled with so much detail i couldn't stop looking at it. "the Cave of the Spleen" is a much more complex work where everyone's clothing takes on the appearance of wind, creating the illusion that everyone is floating.

A very nice piece to have if you are a admirer of Beardsley work or a fan of art that successfully reaches to be different

[Diab'Olo-Menthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought 15 years ago with the Early Works. Same remarks. There, you've got the Yellow Book & Studio most famous prints. As well as his Pierrot series. His stylistic evolution is clearly distinctive and the chronological order very useful. So yes, exhaustive might lead to blasé but, heh, that's a compendium ;-)

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before you get this book, realize that it contains censored versions of the depicted artworks. It's still a good introduction to Beardsley, but if the pictures seem cut off at weird spots it's because they're cutting off the human anatomy.