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Reviews (1)

Hey, take a peek at this.
Inexpensive collection of Beardsley's black & white illustrations, mostly taken from other Beardsley books in the Dover catalogue. Some erotic penwork, but Aubrey's "obscene" art is quite tame by today's standards. Some of it even adorned the covers of magazines in his own time. Of course, the big value of this collection is that it's copyright free. You can use these illustrations in your crafts & collages or scan them for your websites. So, if you like that old decadent Nineties style (I mean 1890, not 1990), this book is one window you can peek through. ... Read more

Amazon.com

There was little that fin-de-siècle artist Aubrey Beardsley's famous gold-nibbed pen could not illustrate--drawings, posters, bookbindings. Though he died of tuberculosis at the age of 25, he left an enormous body of work behind that found a willing audience during his lifetime in the more outré circles of the "naughty '90s" and now symbolizes the decadence of the 1890s. Beardsley possessed an astonishing range of expression, but he is perhaps most famous for his outrageous erotic drawings--many of which adorned such artistic magazines as the Savoy and the Yellow Book. He pushed public opinion to the limit with his sequence of graphic illustrations for Aristophanes's Lysistrata, which, deemed obscene, remained unpublished until 1966.

Biographer Stephen Calloway curated the centenary exhibition of Beardsley's work at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London during autumn of 1998. He closely scrutinizes Beardsley's life in the light of his subversive drawings in this in-depth, superbly illustrated biography that coincides with the exhibition. ... Read more

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Fantastic overview, great reproduction, must have book
This is an excellent addition to any Beardsley fan's bookshelf. Great reproductions, some rare drawings I've never seen, and interesting photos and supporting artwork and photos of the same era. Very readable, jolly good show! ... Read more

Book Description

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley, illustrator and writer, was the most notorious and outstanding artist of thefin de siècle. His disturbing erotic drawings shocked the sensibilities of the Victorians and his friendship and collaboration with Oscar Wilde has secured his place in the pantheon of great artists of the 19th century. Jaques-Emile Blanche's portrait of Bearsley, his face 'like a silver hatchet', is the enduring image of this fabulously talented man who died at the age of just 25. Beardsley's most important illustrations were for Wilde's Salome, Popes The Rape of the Lock, The Lysistrata of Aristophanes and Jonson's Valpone. He was art editor of the hugely influential Yellow Book from which he was dismissed following the arrest of Wilde becoming thereafter the creative editor of the 'Savoy' magazine. He went on to write the highly erotic romance The Story of Venus and Tannhauser which was published in an unexpurgated version as Under the Hill.This extraordinary man created some of the most striking and enduring images of the last one hundred years. His influence on Oscar Wilde and his circle was profound and his achievements in such a short life is one of the great literary and artistic stories of the 19th century. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Perfect Introduction to Beardsley's Life and Work
A quick read, and packed with wonderful photographs and drawings, this book is a great treat for the new Beardsley fan. This book re-opened my eyes to his work, and broadened my horizons, as to who he was, and the life that he led. In other words, it laid the foundation for my further studies of Aubrey Beardsley, and his artistic contribution to the world.

The information is thorough and accurate, and the images are a joy to behold - so much so, in fact, that I purchased a second copy for the sole purpose of cutting out and framing them, for hanging in my drawing studio. Also, the brief nature of the book is helpful, in that it doesn't require the reader to commit, as is necessary for a longer biography. It serves as an ideal introduction. I would strongly recommend it, however, to both those who have just discovered Beardsley, and those who have long loved Beardsley's work. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Diagnosed with tuberculosis at age 7, the talk of London before he turned 22, and dead at 25, Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) was a textbook example of the doomed artist he and his fellow decadents admired so much. British journalist and art critic Matthew Sturgis paints an evocative picture of the cultural milieu that shaped Beardsley, with its ferocious rivalry between the idealistic Pre-Raphaelites and the more sardonic English impressionists, who ultimately claimed Beardsley's loyalty (though the ambitious teenager initially gained the patronage of Pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones). The author's portrait of Beardsley is equally vivid, limning both his dandified affectations and underlying sweetness, his dedication to art and the distaste for sustained work that made him the despair of his publishers. Beardsley's unique black-and-white drawings--perfect for the new technology of mass reproduction--made a sensation, first with the commissioned artwork for Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur and Wilde's Salome, then in the bold periodical he founded with friends, The Yellow Book. But Wilde's trial for gross indecency tainted Beardsley (though Sturgis's take is that he was more likely a virgin than a homosexual); he was fired from The Yellow Book; and his tuberculosis worsened along with his commercial prospects. The author depicts his subject's agonized final months with the same judicious sympathy he trains on "The Beardsley Boom" of 1894. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Perfect for the Budding Beardsleyite
Among the myriad biographies on Aubrey Beardsley, I have to say that this one stands out. Thorough, in depth and a quick read, it covers his life, work and complex personality perfectly. Although I have enjoyed immensely many other books about the man, I feel that this one provides a great starting point. From Beardsley's birth in Brighton to his untimely death in Menton, his tragic story is told with warmth, pathos and the great knowledge of a man clearly admiring of his subject. This book will open your eyes to new and startling truths about Beardsley and his work, if you have been convinced that his life was one of wanton decadence and sexual excess. What a surprise to learn that this clearly was not the case - rather, Beardsley was a most conservative man. I have for many years admired him and his work greatly, and am personally very thankful that Sturgis wrote this book.
For those more interested in a review of Beardsley's work, I'd suggest Chris Snodgrass' book, Aubrey Beardsley, Dandy of the Grotesque. It stands as a perfect companion to Sturgis' biography.

A Beardsley Biography
Matthew Sturgis' biography of the short-lived pen and ink master of black and white imagery provides an informative and elegantly written life of Art Noveau figure Aubrey Beardsley. Discussions of Beardsley's early years, meetings with famous figures like Oscar Wilde and James Whistler, Yellow Book fame, and last years full of physical decline are covered with intelligent attention to detail. Also included are several reproductions of Beardsley's illustrations and the critical response to them. The book is a fast read that is accessible to those not overly familiar with the man and the period, and is also interesting to the fin-de-siecle conoisseur. ... Read more

Book Description

His illustrations for the 1893–1894 Dent edition of the great Thomas Malory classic made Aubrey Beardsley famous virtually overnight. He not only demonstrated dazzling power and imagination but also captured the critical attention of the international art world—and fired the imaginations of generations of artists with what became known as the “Beardsley look.” This volume contains a rich selection of those splendid drawings, including floral and foliated openings, fauns and satyrs, initials, ornaments, and much more. Characters from Arthurian legend are portrayed in splendid full-page illustrations, bordered with evocative and fecund sinuosities of plant and flower. Artists and designers will find here a source of superb designs, graphics, and motifs for permission-free use. 66 black-and-white illustrations.
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Book Description

This book analyzes a wide range of Beardsley's most characteristic work. It establishes his assumptions about the underlying nature of his world, and clarifies why so many observers have considered Beardsley's art indispensable to understanding fin-de-siecle Victorian culture. Beardsley's pictures present a dialogue between seemingly polarized impulses: a desire to scandalize and destabilize the old order, and, equally strong, a need to affirm traditional authority.

Beardsley depicted various grotesque shapes, caricatures, and mutated figures, including foetus/old man, dwarf, Clown, Harlequin, Pierrot, and dandy (the icon of the Decadent "Religion of Art"). Incarnating the fearful contradictions of decadence, these images served as objective correlatives of some "monstrous" metaphysical contortion. His grotesques suggest the impossibility of resolving these contradictions, even as his elegant designs try formalistically to control and recuperate the disfiguration.

As a canonical style, Beardsley's "dandy" sensibility and grotesque caricatures become his means of realigning canonical meaning. Thus, he effects what might be termed a "caricature" of traditional signification. An aesthete devoted to the "Religion of Art", Beardsley, nonetheless, creates a world inescapably "de-formed". He is a Dandy of the Grotesque. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Strongly Recommended for the Serious Beardsleyite
Firstly, I feel it important to say that this book is not necessarily for the viewer with only a lightweight, or passing, interest in Aubrey Beardsley - it is a very deep, involved study of the man, as well as of his work. That said, I will say that for the Beardsley fanatic, it is an absolute must-read.
I have read many books on Beardsley, and none reach into his work so deeply as this. The book provides a psychological study, as its basis for review of Beardsley's greatest works. While it does focus on the man's self-identification as a dandy, other facets of his complex personality are also brought to attention, and analyzed. Chris Snodgrass approaches such an endeavor with some detachment, but it is quite clear that he is anything but lukewarm towards Aubrey Beardsley and his art - rather, his admiration for both is apparent.
I would not recommend this book as a first read for the budding Beardsleyite - rather, I'd go with Matthew Sturgis' wonderful biography. This book seems to assume that the reader is already intimately familiar with Beardsley's life story, and also intimately familiar with his works. If you fit in this category, please give this book a read - its value cannot be underestimated. An indispensible reference, and never a dull moment. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Foundation for Cultural Review on February 1, 1999. The length of the article is 2231 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Aubrey Beardsley: A Biography.(Review)
Author: Brooke Allen
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 1999
Publisher: Foundation for Cultural Review
Volume: 17Issue: 6Page: 67(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, published by Bibliographical Society of Canada on March 22, 1996. The length of the article is 355 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Selective checklist of the published work of Aubrey Beardsley.
Publication: Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1996
Publisher: Bibliographical Society of Canada
Volume: 34Issue: 1Page: 95-6

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thompson Gale ... Read more