Eleanor Milne has said she admires the graphic style of Aubrey Beardsley. The leading English illustrator in the 1890s was only 25 when he died, cutting short an illustrious career. His easily recognizable, unique style of black-and-white line drawing was influenced by Japanese woodcuts and the style of Art Nouveau. Participating in the fusion of the 1890s, Beardsley mixed image and text, combining graphic design with Japanese print-making influences. In addition to the mixture of image and text, Beardsley's drawings were also recognized for their use of decorative abstraction. The technique of photo-engraving was used for publishing his work.

Beardsley illustrated Sir Thomas Malory's La Morte Darthur (1893 edition), Aristophanes' Lysistrata and the Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope (both 1896). He is perhaps best known for his pen and ink drawings illustrating Oscar Wilde's Salomé (1894). Many of his works were erotic in nature, working with sexual metaphor. His own briefly lived life-style was one of Victorian decadence.

Reference: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1965 ed.

EXTERNAL LINKS:
Copyright free images by Beardsley, like the one on this page of Merlin from La Morte Darthur.
Aubrey Beardsley from many perspectives.

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