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University ofCalifornia B erkeley
Gift of
THE HEARST CORPORATION
AUBREY BEARDSLEY
LONDON 24
JOHN L ANE ,THE laons HE AD
NEW YORK : jOHN LAN E COMPANY MCMI X
IAUBREY
BEARD SL EYBY ROBERT ROSSW ITH S IX T EE N FUL L -PAGE
I L LUSTRAT I ON S AND A
R E V I SED ICONO GR APHYAYME R VAL LANCE
TURN B ULL AND SPEARS , PR I NTERS , ED I NB URGH .
S I R COLERIDGE ARTHUR FIT!ROY KENNARD ,
BART.
I llustrations
Mas PATR ICK CAM PBELL Fr onlirpieee
N ow in tile B erlin National Gallery
facing pageS lEG I-‘RIED I 2
Reproduced/ram I ’ll or iginal in tbe pos s es s ion of M r : B ealéy Wr iglzt
THE WOMAN m THE MOON
Fr om Salome
THE To lLE'
r'
rE OF SALOMEFrom Salome
THE DANCER ’ S REWARDFr om Salome
TAILP IECEFr om Salome
DESIGN FOR A F RONTISP IECEFr om P lay: oy Jo/m Davidson
THE WAGNERlTES
ATALANTA
THE MYe mous RO SE GARDEN7
Aubrey Beardsley
ILLUSTRATION FOR “ A NOCTURNE OF CHOP IN
CHOPIN , BALLADE I I I . OP . 47
Reproduced hy permis s ion of Charles Holme,E rgr e.
THE BARON ’ s PRAYERFrom
,
“ Th e Rape of the L och
THE BATTLE OF B EAUx AND B ELLEsFrom Th e Rape of the L ook
A DES IGN FROM “ LYS ISTRATA
D ’ALBERT I N SEARCH OF IDEALSFrom Mademois elle a
'
e Maupin .
”Reproducedf rom the or iginal
in thepos ses s ion of M r: B ealoy Wr ight
AUBREY BEARDSLEY
AU B R E Y B E ARD SL E Y
UBREY BEARDSLEY wa s born onAugust 2 1 8t
,1 87 2 , a t Brighton .
He was a qu ie t,re served ch ild ,
caring l ittle for lesson s,though
from an early age he shewed an apt itude fordrawing . He began his education a t a K indergarten . He was seven year s o ld when thefir st symptoms of de l icacy appeared
,and he
was sent to a preparatory school at Hurstpierpoint
,where he was remarkable for his
courage and ex treme re serve . Threatenedwith tuberculos is
,he was moved for h is health
to Epsom in 1 88 1 . In March 1 883 hi s familyse ttled in London
,and Beardsley made his
firs t publ ic appearance as an infan t musicalphenomenon
,playing at concerts in company
with h is s i ster . He had a grea t knowledgeof music
,and always spoke dogmat ical ly on a
subject,the only one he used to say
,of which
he knew anything. He became attracted atthi s t ime by Miss Kate Greenaway
’
s picture1 1
S IEGF R I EDR ep rodu ced f r o m th e o r zgm a! zn th e p os s es s zon of Mr s B ealoy Wr zg/zt
Aubrey Beardsley
perform before large audiencesat the Pavi l ion .
He organ ized weekly performance s at theschool
,designing and illustrat ing the pro
grammes . He even wrote a farce called “ ABrown Study
,
” which was played a t Brighton,
where i t received serious attent ion from thedramat ic cri tics of the town. He would purchase each volume of the Mermaid serie s ofEli zabe than dramatist s then being i s sued
,and
with h is sister gave performance s during thehol idays . From the record of the “ BrightonCollege Magaz ine
,
” Beardsley appears to havetaken a lead ing rOle in al l hi strionic fétes
,and
to “ The Pied P iper of Hamel in he contributedsome de lightfu l and racy l ittle ske tches
,the
first of his drawings,I believe
,that were ever
reproduced .
In July 1 888 he left school,and almost
immediately entered an architect ’s office inLondon . In 1 889 he obtained a pos t in theGuardian Life and Fire Insurance . Duringthe autumn of that year the fatal haemorrhage scommenced ; for two year s he gave up hisamateur theatricals and did l ittle in the way ofdrawing . In 1 89 1 , however, he recuperated ;a be lief in his own powers revived . He now
1 3
Aubrey Beardsley
commenced a whole serie s of i llustrations tovarious plays
,such as Marlowe ’s “ Tamerlane
,
”
Congreve ’s “Way of the World,and various
French works which he was able to enjoy inthe original . He would often speak of theencouragement and kindness he received at thisperiod from the Rev. A lfred Gurney
,who had
known h is family at Brighton,and who was
perhaps the earl ie st of h i s fr iends to reali zethat Beardsley possessed something more thanmere cleverne ss or precoc i ty.
Several people have claimed to discoverAubrey Beardsley
,but I think i t truer to say
that he revealed h imself,when proper acknow
ledgment has been made to Mr Aymer Vallance,
Mr Joseph Penne ll,Mr Frederick Evans,Mr J .M .
D ent,and Mr John Lane
,with whom Beardsley ’ s
art will always be as sociated '
in connection wi ththe Yellow Book
,that too ear ly daffodil that
came before the swallow dared and could nottake the winds of March for beauty. ToMr Pennell be longs the credit of introducingBeardsley’s art to the public ; and to Mr D enti s due the rare d istinction of giving him practicalencouragement
,by commi ss ioning the il lus
trations to the Morte d’Arth ur,
” long before14
THE WOMAN I N THE MOONFr om Salo m e
Aubrey Beardsley
cr itics had wri tten anything about him, or anybut a few fr i ends knew of h is great powers .Beardsley was too remarkable a personality toremain in obscurity . Though I remember w ithsome amusement how the editor of a we l lknown weekly mocked at a prophecy that theart ist was a coming man who would very shortlyexc ite discussion if not admi ration. FortunatelyMr Penne ll
,a distinguished artist h imself
,and
a fearles s crit ic,not only espoused the cause of
the new draughtsman,but became a personal
friend for whom Beardsley always evinced greataffection
,and to whom he dedicated his “A lbum
of Fifty Drawings .”
I shall never forget my fir st mee ting w ithAubrey Beardsley
,on February 14th, 1 89 2 ,
at the rooms of Mr Vallance,the wel l-known
di sciple and biographer of Wi l liam Morri s .Though prepared for an ex traordinary personality, I never expected the youthful apparit ionwhich glided into the room. He was shy
,
nervous,and self-conscious
,without any of the
inte llectual assurance and ease so characteristicof h im eighteen months later when hi s succes swas unquestioned . He brought a portfolioof his marvel lous drawings
,in themselve s an
I S
Aubrey Beardsley
wi th ex traordinary thoroughne ss; He told mehe had only been once to the New Gallery
,
where he saw some pictures by Bo rne-Jones,but
had never been to the Royal Academy . A s faras I know
,he never vi s ited the spring shows
of Burl ington House . He always,however
,
defended that institut ion with enthus iasm,say
ing he would rather be an Academician than anar tist
,
“ as it take s on ly one man to make anarti st
,but forty to make an Academician .
”
Our nex t meet ing was a few weeks later,
when he brought me a repl ica of his “Joan ofAr e.
” I was anx ious to buy the firs t and bettervers ion
,now in the posse ss ion ofMr Frederick
Evans,but he refused to par t w ith i t at the
t ime . He seemed particularly proud of thedrawing ; i t was the only work of thi s periodhe would al low to have any meri t .In the early summer of 1 89 2 he vis itedBurne-Jones and Watts
,receiving from the
former art ist cordial recognit ion and exce llentadvice wh ich proved invaluable to h im. Heat tr ibuted to the same great painter the crit icismthat “ he had learnt too much from the oldmasters and would benefit by the training Of anart school .” A few days afterward s he pro
B 1 7
Aubrey Beardsley
duced a most amus ing caricature of himse lf beingkicked down the stairs of the Nat ional Gallery byRaphae l
,Titian
,and Mantegna
,wh ilst Michae l
Angelo deal t a blow on h is head wi th ahammer .
This entertaining l ittle record,I am sorry to
say,was de stroyed . Beardsley was always
sens ible about friendly and intelligent cr iticism .
When he reached a position enjoyed by noartist of his own age, he was swift to remedyany defect pointed out to h im by artists or evenby ordinary friends . I never met anyone sorecept ive on all subj ects he would record whatMr Pennel l or P uvis de Chavanne s said inpraise or blame of a part icular drawing wi thequal candour and good humour . This wasonly one of his many amiable qual i t ie s . Whenhe afterwards became a sort of household wordand his fame
,or no torie ty as h is enemies ca lled
i t,was e stabl ished
,he never changed in this
respect . He made friends and remained friendswith many for whom hi s art was total ly um
inte l ligible . Soc ial charm tr iumphed over al ldifferences . He would speak wi th enthus iasmabout wr iters and artis ts quite out of sympathywi th his own aims and aspirat ions . He neverassumed that those to whom he was intro
1 8
THE TO I LETTE OF SALOMEFro m Salo m e
Aubrey Beardsley
books and crit ical tex ts of the Engl ish class icswi th Mr Frederick Evans
,an early and en
thus iastic buyer of his work. His taste s werenot narrow. Poetry
,memoirs
,history
,short
s tories,biography
,and essays of all kinds
appealed to him ; but he cared little fornovels
,except in French . I don ’t think he
ever read D ickens, Thackeray , and GeorgeEliot
,though he enjoyed Scott during th e
last months of h is l ife . He had an ear lypredi lect ion for l ives of the Saints . Thescrap-book of ske tches , containing drawingsdone prior to 1 89 2 , indicate s the range andex tent of his taste . There are illustrationsto “ Manon Lescaut
,
” “ Tartarin “MadameBovary
,
” Balzac (“Le Cous in Pons , the “Conte sRacine
,She l ley ’s “ Cenci . He
retained his love of the drama,and began to
write a play in collaboration wi th Mr BrandonThomas . Wh ile dominated by pre-Raphael ite influence s
,he read with great avidity “ Sidonia the
Sorceress,
” and “The Shaving of Shagpat,” a
favourite book of Rosse tti’s ; and i t was wi tha view to i llustrate Mr Meredith’s Arab ianN ight that he became introduced to Mr JohnLane
,who divides w i th Mr Herbert Pollit the
2 0
THE DANCER ’ S REWARDFro m Salom e
Aubrey Beardsley
honour of posse ss ing the finest Beardsleys s til lin th is country . He read Greek and Lat inauthors in translat ions
,and often astonished
scholars by his acute apprec iation of theirmatter . He approached D ante sque mediaevali sm through Ro sse tt i and
,later on
,at the original
source . Much of h is early work i llu stratedinc idents in the “ Divine Comedy. He wasa fervent admirer of the “ Romance of the Rosein the original
,and severa l mediaeval French
books,but he once told me that he found the
Morte d’Arth ur very long-winded .
For one so romantic in the expres s ion of hi sart
,I should say hi s l i terary and art istic taste s
were severely class ic,though you would have
expected them to be b i zarre . He was amb itionsof l iterary succe ss
,but any aspirat ions were
w isely discouraged by h is admirers . His writings,
however brill iant—and they often were brill iant- shewed a dangerous cleverness
,wh ich on cult i
vat ion might have proved disastrous to thereal izat ion of h is true genius . “ Under theHil l ” is a del ightful experiment in a rococostyle of l iterature
,and i t would be difficult to
praise sufficiently the rhythm and metrical adroitne ss of the two poems in the Savoy Maga
2 1
TA I L I ’ I E CEFro m Salom e
Aubrey Beardsley
we were eventual ly obliged to lock up all ear lyexample s . For though fr iends thus victimizedwere endowed wi th a more valuable acqu is it ion
,they had a natural sentiment and affection
for the unsophi st icated des igns of h is earlieryears .His l ife
,though many-s ided and succes sful ,
was outwardly uneventful . In the early summerof 1 89 2 he entered Profe ssor Brown
’s nightschool at Wes tminster
,but during the day con
tinued hi s work a t the Guardian Fire Insuranceunti l August
,when
,by h is s ister ’s advice
,he
res igned his post . In D ecember he becameacquainted wi th Mr Penne ll
,from whose en
couragement and advice he reaped the fulles tadvantage . After commenc ing the decorat ionsto the “ Morte d’Arthur
,
” he ceased to a ttendProfessor Brown’s classes . In February 1 893some of h i s drawings were first published inLondon in the Pall Mal l Budge t under theedi torship of Mr Lewi s Hind
,but one of the
most str iking of his early des igns appeared ina l i ttle co l lege magaz ine enti tled The Bee .When The S tudio was started by Mr Charle sHolme under the able direction of the lateGleeson-Wh i te
,Beardsley des igned the first
2 3
Aubrey Beardsley
cover and Mr Penne ll contr ibuted the wel lknown apprec iat ion of the new ar ti s t.Toward s the end of 1 893 he commencedworking for Mr John Lane
,who issued his
marvellous i llustrations to “ Salomé ”in 1 894 .
In Apr i l of the same year appeared theYellow Book . To the fir st four volumes Beardsleycontributed al toge ther about eighteen illustrations . From a pictorial point of view thi spubl icat ion had no other rairon d
’
e‘
tre thanas a vehicle for the production of Beardsley’swork
,though Henry Harland
,in hi s capaci ty
as l iterary edi tor,revealed the presence of many
new wr iters among us . Throughout 1 894
Beardsley ’s health seemed to improve,and his
social succe ss was considerable . I n the prev iousyear he had been r idiculed
,but “
now the worldaccepted h im at Mr Pennel l’s valuat ion . TheBeardsley type became quite a fash ion, and wasburlesqued at many of the theatre s ; hi s nameand work were on every one ’s l ips . He madefriends with many of his contemporar ie s distinguish ed in art and l i terature . At th e houseof one of hi s friends he del ivered a very amusing lecture on “ Art
” which created muchdiscussion .
2 4
Aubrey Beards ley
A l ittle later Beardsley wa s popularly supposed to have given pictorial expre s sion to theviews and sen timents of a certain school
,and
h is drawings were regarded a s the outwardartist ic s ign of inward l i terary corrupt ion . Th isi s no t the place to discuss the invent ion of amare ’s nes t . He suffered cons iderably by th ispremature a ttempt to class ify h is art. Furtherefforts to ridicule h i s work and suppre s s i tspublication were
,however
,among the mo st
cheering failures of modern j ournal ism. In1 895 he ceased to contribute to the YellowBook
,and in January 1 896 The Savoy was
s tar ted by Leonard Sm ithers,w i th Mr Arthur
Symon s as the l iterary editor,who became the
most subtle and discerning of al l his cr it ics afterBeardsley ’s death . Fai ling health was the onlydifficulty wi th which he had to contend in thefuture . From March 1 896 , when he caught asevere ch i ll at Brussels
,he became a permanen t
inval id . He returned to England in May,and
in August went to Bournemouth,where he
Spent the autumn and w inter .
Those who vis ited him at Bournemouth neverexpected he would l ive for more than a fewweeks . Hi s courage
,however
,never fai led
2 5
Aubrey Beardsley
him,and he continued work even . while suffer
ing from lung haemorrhage ; but he expre sseda hope and bel ief
,in wh ich he was justified
,
that he m ight be spared one more year . On
March g1 8t, 1 897 , he was received Into theCatholic Church . The s inceri ty of h is re
ligiou s convict ions has been affirmed by thosewho were with him cons tantly ; and, as I havesugges ted before
,the flippancy and careles s
nature of his conversat ion were superficial : hewas always strict in h i s rel igious Observances .Among hi s intimate friends through l ife wereclergymen and priests who have paid tribute tothe reality and s incerity of h is be l ief.A week after being received
,Beardsley
rallied again,and moved to Paris
,but stil l
required the attention and untiring devotion ofhi s mother
,to whom he was deep ly attached .
He never returned to England again . Fromtime to t ime he was cheered by vi s its from M issMabe l Beardsley (Mrs B ealby Wr ight) , whounders tood h er brother as few s isters have done .For some t ime he stayed at S t Germain
,and in
July 1 897 he went to D ieppe , where he seemedalmos t to have recovered . I t was only
,however
,
for a short t ime,and in the end of 1 897 he
2 6
F RONT I SP IECEFro m P lay s by Dav zds on
Aubrey Beardsley
was hurried to Mentone . He never left h isroom after January 2 5 th . Th e accoun ts of h imwhich reached London prepared h is fr iend sfor the ' end . Almost one of h is last letterswa s to Mr Vincent O’
Sullivan,the poet
,con
gratulating him on hi s Introduction to “Vol
pone,
”for which Beardsley was making the
i l lustration s . Beardsley had a cons iderableknowledge and appreciat ion of Ben Jonson .
On March 2 grd, 1 898, he rece ived the lastsacraments ; and on the 2 5 th , with perfectresignation
,in the pre sence of h i s mother and
sister,to whom he had confided me ssage s of
love and sympathy to his many friends,Aubrey
Beard sley pas sed away .
Come back in sleep , for in the lifeWhere thou art no tWe find none l ike thee . Time and strifeAnd the world’ s lot
Move thee no more but love at leastAnd reverent heartMay move thee, royal and releasedSoul , as thou art.”
No one could have w ished h im to l ive on inpain and suffering. I think the only great trialsof hi s life were the period s in which he was
2 7
Aubrey Beardsley
unfitted for work . His remarkabl’
e career wasnot darkened by any struggle for recognit ion .
Few artists have been so fortunate as AubreyBeardsley . Hi s short l ife was remarkablyhappy—at al l events dur ing the s ix years hewas before the publ ic. Every thing he did metwi th success—a success thoroughly enjoyed byhim . He seemed indifferent to the idle cri ticismand violent denunciat ion w ith which much ofh i s art was hai led . I never heard of anyone ofimportance who disliked him personally ; on theother hand
,many who were hostile and pre
judiced about h is art ceased to attack h imafter mee ting him . This must have been dueto the magne tism and charm of h is individuality
,
ex ercised qu ite unconsc iously,for he never
tr ied to conciliate people,or
“ to work theoracle
,
” but rather gloried in shocking “ theenemy
,a boyish failing for wh ich he may be
forgiven .
He had cons iderable intel lectual vanity,but
it never relapsed into common conceit . He wasgenerous in recognizing the talent and geniusof others
,but was s ingularly perverse in some
of his utterances . He said once that only fourof his contemporarie s intere sted him . He
2 8
Aubrey Beardsley
bore with ex traordinary pat ience the assert ions of foolish persons who [ calmly assertedthat both in America and England other artistshad anticipated the pecul iar i t ie s of h is s ty le andmethods . I have seen the work s of the seLambert S imnel s and Perkin Warbecks
,and
they proved,one and all
,crows in peacocks ’
feathers . Beardsley ’s style,neverthele ss
,in
fluenced (unfortunate ly, I think) many exce l lentar t ists both younger and older than h imself.In France hi s work was accepted without quest ion : he was always grat ified by the cordial itywhich gree ted h im in a country where he wasmore general ly unders tood than in hi s own .
He has i llus trious precedents in Constableand Bonnington . Italy
,Austria
,and Germany
recognized in h im a master some time beforeh is death . A t Berlin h is picture of Mr s
Patr ick Campbell, the actress , i s now in a placeof honour in the Museum . A portrai t s tudy ofhimself is in the British Museum Pr int Room ;a few examp le s are a t South Kens ington
; butal l hi s important work i s in private collections
;
much of I t I S in America and Germany. InEngland , putting as ide the notoriety and sensat ion caused by his posters and the Yellow
2 9
Aubrey Beardsley
Book,appreciat ion of his work has been con
fined rather to the few. He enjoyed,however
,
the fr iendship and intimacy of great numbers ofpeople
,shewing that h is amiable qual itie s
,no
less than hi s art,received due recognit ion . Hi s
conversation was vehement and wi tty ra therthan humorous . He had a remarkable talentfor mimick ing
,very rarely ex ercised . He loved
argument,and supported theorie s for the sake
of argument in the most conv incing manner,
leaving strangers with a totally wrong im
pression about h imse lf,a deception to which
he was much addicted . He posses sed what i scalled an art ificial manner
,cultivated to an
ex tent that might be mistaken fo r affectation .
He never could s i t still for very long,and he
made use of ges ture for emphas is . His peculiargait has been very happi ly rendered in a portraitof him by Mr Wa l ter S ickert ; he a lso sat toM . Blanche , the well-known French portrai tpainter ; the portrait by h imse lf i s tinged withcaricature .
To e stimate the art of Aubrey Beardsley isnot difficult. That h is drawings must exci tedi scuss ion at al l t ime s is only a proof of their
30
Aubrey Beards ley
lasting wor th . They can never be di smissedwith unkind ly comment
,nor she lved in to the
l imbo of art cr i ticism wh ich wai ts for manyblame less and depres s ing productions of theeighteenth and nine teenth centurie s . Amongar ti st s and men of le tters no le ss than with thatgreat inar tistic body
,
“ the art- lov ing publ ic,
”
Aubrey Beardsley ’s name will always cal l forthwonder
,admiration
,speculation
,and contempt.
I t should be conceded,however
,that his work
cannot appeal to everyone ; and that many whohave the highe s t perception of the beaut iful seeonly the repuls ive and unwhole some in thetroubled
,exot ic expre ssion of hi s genius .
Fortunate ly,
no reputat ion in art or le ttersre sts on the verdict of majori tie s—it is theopinion of the few which final ly triumphs .Artists and crit ics have already dwel t on
the beauty of Aubrey Beard sley’ s l ine,which
in h i s ear ly work too often reso lved i tselfinto mere cal igraphy ; but the mature andperfect i llustrations to “ Salomé ” and “ TheRape of the Lock evince a mastery unsur
passed by any artist in any age or country .
NO one ever carr ied a s imple line to its inev itable end w i th such sureness and firmnes s
3 1
Aubrey Beardsley
Th is is hardly the place to dwe l l on the greats trides which black and wh ite art made in thenine teenth cen tury. It has been called the mos tmodern of the arts ; for the mos t finished drawing sof the o ld masters were done w ith a v iew toserve as stud ie s or de s ign s to be transferred tocanvas
,me tal
,and wood
,not for frame s at an
expensive dealer ’s . Vittore Pi sano and Gen ti leBellini would hardly have dared to mount theirde lightful s tudie s and offer them as p icture sto the crit ics and patrons of their day. At allevents it were safer to say
,tha t appreciation of
a drawing for it self,w ithout relation to the book
or page it was intended to adorn or destroy,is
comparative ly modern . I t is nece ssary to keepthi s in mind
,because the su itabi lity of Beardsley’s
work to the books he embe llished wa s oftenacc idental . Hi s des igns must be j udged independently
,as they were conceived
,without any
view of interpreting or even illustrat ing aparticular author. He was too subjective tobe a mere i llustrator . Profound ly intere sted inl iterature for the purpose s of his art
,he only
ex tracted from i t whatever was sugge st ive aspattern ; he never profes sed to interpre t for dullpeople, unable to understand what they read
,
C 3 3
Aubrey Beardsley
any more than the mediaeval illiiminator andcarver of grotesques attempted to explain themysteries of the Christ ian faith on the bordersof missal s and breviar ies or the miserere seats ofthe choir . Hi s art was
,of course
,intensely
literary, to u se the word hated of moderncr it ics
,but h is expre ss ion of it was the legitimate
l i terature of the artist, not th e art peculiar tol iterature . He did not attempt
,or certainly
never succeeded in giving, pictorial revis ion to a
work of l iterature in the sense that Blake hasdone for the book of Job
,and Bottice ll i for the
“D ivine Comedy .
” Whi le hardly satisfyingthose for whom any work of art gui l ty of“ subj ect ” becomes worthle ss
,th is immunity
from the convent ions of the illustrator w illsecure for Beardsley a larger share of esteemamong artists pure and s imple than has everfallen to Wi lliam Blake
,who appeal s more to
men of letters than to the artist or virtuoso.The uncritical profess to find many terriblemeanings in Aubrey Beardsley’s drawings ; andhe w il l probably never be freed from the chargeof symbol ism . However morbid the sentimentin some of his work
,and often there was a
macabr e,an unholy insistence on the les s beaut i
34
Aubrey Beardsley
ful s ide of human things,the cabala of the
symbolists was a sealed book to him . Suchthings were entirely foreign to hi s lucid andvigorous intelligence . There i s hard ly a drawing of h is that does not explain i tse lf ; thecommentator will search in vain for anyhi eroglyphic o r symbol ic intention . The hieraticarchaism of h is early work misled many people
,
for whom pre-Raphael itism mean s pre suppos ition .
Ofmyst ici sm, that s tumbl ing-block , he had noneat al l . “ Th e I nitiation of a Neophyte into th e
Black Ar t would seem to contradict such astatement . The fantasy and grotesqueness ofthat lurid and haunt ing compos ition have no thing in common w ith the symbol ism of blackmagic
,the r itual of freemasonry
,or all the
fasc inat ing magic to be found in the works ofEliphaz Lev i . The sumptuous accessories inwhich he reve lled had no other than a decorative intent ion
,giving some time s balance to a
drawing,or conveying a l i terary sugge stion
nece ssary for it s interpretat ion.Artists are blamed for what they have not
tried to do ; or for the absence of quali tie sdistinguishing the work of an ent ire ly d ifferentorder of intel lect ; for their indifference to the
35
Aubrey Beardsley
observat ions of oth er s . As who.
should askfrom Reynold s a fai thful reproduct ion of tex tilefabrics ; and from Carlo Cr ive ll i the naturalphenomena of nature we expect from Turnerand Constable ! For nature as i t should be
,in
the works of Coro t and Turner ; for naturemade easy
,in modern Engl ish landscape ; for
nature without tears,in the impre ssionist fashion,
or as popularly viewed through the camera,Aubrey Beardsley had no feel ing . He wasfrankly ind ifferent to p icturesque peasants , thebeauties of “ lovely spots,
” either in England orFrance . A devout Catho lic
,the r inging of the
Ange lus d id not lure him to pre sent fields ofmangel-wurze l s in an even ing haze . Thetreatmen t of nature in the larger and truer senseof the word had l itt le attraction for him ; henever tried, therefore , to represent air
,atmo
sphere,and light
,as many clever modern artists
have done in black and whi te ! Though Claude,
that master of light and shadow,was a landscape
painter who real ly interested him . Beardsley ’slandscape, therefore, is formal, primitive , conventional; a breath of air hardly shake s thedelicate leave s of the straight poplar s andwillows that grow by h is serpentine streams .
36
Aubrey Beardsley
The great cl iffs,leaning down in promontories
to the sea,have that unreal
,archi tectural
appearance so remarkable in the We st of Cornwall
,a place he had never visi ted . Ye t h is
love and Observat ion of flowers,trees
,and
gardens are very striking in the drawingsfor the “Morte d
’
Arthur and the SavoyMagazine
,but i t is the nature of the landscape
gardener,not the landscape painter. There i s
some truth in the half-playful,half-unfriendly
cri t icism,that h i s picture s were a form of
romant ic map-mak ing . Future experts,how
ever,may be trusted to deal with absence of
chiaroscuro,value s
,tone s
,and the rest . I n
only one of hi s drawings,conceived
,cur iously
enough,in the manner of Burne-Jones (an
un like ly mode l) , i s there anything approach ingwhat i s usually termed a tmosphere . El iminat ing
,
therefore,al l that must no t be expected from
h i s art—mere i l lustration,realism
,symbolism
and natural ism—in what,may be asked
,doe s
h is supreme achievement cons i st ! He hasdecorated white Sheets of paper a s they havenever been decorated before ; whether hungon the wall
,reproduced in a book
,or concealed
in a museum,they remain among the most
37
Aubrey Beardsley
precious and exquisite work s in the art of then ineteenth century
,resembl ing the de s igns of
William Blake only—in that they must behated
,misunderstood
,and neglected
,ere they
are recognized as works of a master. Wi thmore s imple material s than tho se employed bythe fathers of black and whi te art
,Beardsley
has left memorials no le ss wonderful than thoseof the Greek vase-painters
,so highly pri zed by
art is ts and archaeologist s al ike,but no less
difficult for the uninit iated to appreciate andunderstand.
The astonish ing ferti l ity of h is invention,and
the amount of work he managed to produce,
were inconceivable ; ye t there i s never any Signof hurry ; there i s no scamping in his deft andtidy drawing . The neatnes s of h i s most elaborate des igns would suggest many ske tche sworked over and di scarded before deciding onthe final form and composit ion . S trange to say
,
this was not h i s method . He sketched everyth ing in penc i l
,a t firs t covering the paper w ith
apparent scrawls, cons tantly rubbed out andblocked in again
,unti l the whole surface
became radd led from penc i l,indiarubb er
,and
knife ; over th i s incoherent surface he worked3 8
F RONT I SP IECEFro m A N octu rn e of Ch opm
Aubrey Beardsley
in Chinese ink with a gold pen,often ignoring
the penci l lines,afterwards carefully removed .
So every draw ing was invented,built up
,and
comple ted on the same shee t of paper . Andthe same process was repeated even when heproduced replicas . At firs t he was indifferen tto proces s reproduction
,but
,owing to Mr
Pennell ’s influence,he later on always worked
w ith that end in view ; thereby losing, somewill think
,his independence . But he had
noth ing to complain Of —Mr Penne l l’s contemt ion about process was never so we l l proved asin Beardsley’s case . His experiments in colourwere no t always succe ssful
,two of his most
del ightful designs he ruined by tint ing. Inthe posters and S tudio l ithograph
,how
ever,the crude colour i s h ighly effect ive
,and
“Mademoiselle d'
e Maupin” shewed he might
have mastered water-colour had he chosen todo so . There are at present in the marketmany co loured forger ie s of h is work : thesehave been contrived by trac ing or copying thereproductions ; the colour is often used to conceal the paucity of the drawing and he si tancyof line ; they are nearly always vers ions ofwe ll-known des igns
,and profess to be replicas .3 9
Aubrey Beardsley
When there is any doubt the ‘h istory andprovenance of the work should be carefullys tudied . I t is not difficult to trace the pedigreeof any genuine example .
A good deal has been made out of Beardsley’ slove of dark rooms and lamp l ight , but this hasbeen grossly exaggerated . He had no greatfai th in north l ights and studio paraphernalia ,so neces sary for those who use mediums o therthan his own . He would some time s draw on aperfectly flat table
,facing the light , which
would fall directly on the paper,the blind
s lightly lowered .
The source s of Beardsley ’s inspiration haveled critics into grievous errors . He was accusedof imi tat ing art ists
,some of whose work he had
never seen,and of whose names he was ignorant
at the time the alleged plagiar ism was perpetrated
—Felic ien Kops may be mentionedas an instance . Beardsley contrived a stylelong before he came across any modern Frenchi llustration . He was innocent of ei ther Salon
,
the Ros icrucians,and the Roya l Academy al ike ;
but h i s own influence on the Cont inent i s saidto be cons iderable . That b e borrowed free lyand from every imaginable master
,old and new
,
40
Aubrey Beards ley
i s,of course
,obvious . Eclect ic i s certainly
applicable to h im . But what he took he en
dowed wi th a fantastic and fascinating original ity ;to some image or acces sory
,famil iar to anyone
who has s tudied the old masters,he added the
touch of moderni ty which brings them nearer tous
,and reached refinements never thought of
by the o ld masters . Imagination is the greatpirate of art
,and wi th Beardsley become s a
pre tex t for invent ion .
Pr ior to 1 89 1 hi s drawings are interestingonly for their precocity ; they may be regarded
,
as one of his friends has said,more as a presage
than a precedent. You marvel,on reali zing the
short interva l wh ich e lapsed between their production and the masterpiece s of h i s maturity .
His first enthus iasm was for the work of theI tal ian pr im it ives
,as Mr Char le s Wh ibley
says , di stinguished“ for it s free and flow
ing l ine . ” Even at a later time,when he
devoted himself to eighteenth century modelsand ideals
,hi s love of Andrea Mantegna never
deser ted h im . He a lways kept reproductionsfrom Mantegna at hi s s ide
,and declared that he
never ceased to learn secrets from them . Inthe “ L itany of Mary Magdalen
” and the two4 1
R ep roduced by f erm zs s zon of Charle s H olm e , [i s qr e
Aubrey Beardsley
his mos t popular and least satisfactory per
formance . S ti l l the borders have far morevarie ty and invent ion than those of Morris ;the intricate splendours of mediaeval manuscripts are inte lligently imitated or adapted.
The init ial and tail-piece s are del ightful inthemse lves
,and among the mos t exquis ite of
his gro tesque s and embel lishments . But thepopularity of the book was due to its lack oforiginali ty
,no t to its individuality. Mediaeval ism
for the midd le classes always ensures an ap
preciative audience . Oddly enough,Morr i s
was said to be annoyed by the s inceres t formof flattery . Perhaps he fe lt that every schoo lof art come s to an end with the bir th of thefounder
,and that Beardsley was only exerc is ing
himself in an alien field of which Morris h imse lfowned the tithe . A t all events i t i s no t unlike lythat Beardsley aroused in the great poe t anddecorator the same suspicion tha t he hadundoubtedly done in Watts .The “ Morte d’Arth ur ” may be said
,for
convenience,to close Aubrey Beards ley ’s first
per iod ; but he modified h is sty le during theprogre s s of the publicat ion
,and there i s no
unity of intent ion in his type s or scheme of43
Aubrey Beardsley
decoration . He was gravitating Japanwards .
He began,however
,his so-called Japanesques
long before see ing any real Japanese art,except
what may be found in the London sh Op w indowson cheap. trays or biscuit-boxe s . He neverthought seriously of borrow ing from th is sourceunti l some one no t conversant w i th Orienta lart ins i sted on the resemblance of his drawings to Kakemonos . I t was quite accidental .Beardsley was really studying with great careand attent ion the Crivellis in the Nat ionalGallery ; their superficial resemblance toJapane se work occas ioned an error from whichBeardsley
,quick to ass imilate ideas '
and modesof express ion
,took a suggest ion
,unconsciously
and ignorantly ‘ offered,and s tudied genuine
example s . “ Raphael Sanz io”
(first version)was produced prior to this incident
,and
“Madame Cigale’
s B ir thday Par ty immedi
ately afterwards . Hi s emulation of the Japanesenever left h im unt il the production of theSavoy Magazine . In my view this was the onlybad ar tist ic influence which ever threatenedto endanger his original i ty
,or permanently
vitiate h is manner . The free use of Chineseink
,together with his inte llectual vitality
,saved
44
THE B ARON ’ S P RAYERFrom Th e Rape of th e L ook
Aubrey Beards ley
him from “ succumb ing to Japan,to use Mr
Pennell ’s excel lent phrase .A serie s of grote sque s to decorate some
rather s illy antholog ie s produced in the sameyear as the Morte d’Arth ur
”are marve l s of
ingenuity,and far more characteristic . With
them he began a new per iod , throwing over thede l iberate archa ism and media—zvalism
,of which
he began to tire . In the illustrat ions to
“ Salomé,
” he reached the consummation ofthe new convention he created for h imse lf ;they are
,collectively
,h is masterpiece . In the
whole range of art there is nothing l ike them .
You can trace the origin of their development,
but you canno t find anything wherewith tocompare them ; they are absolutely unique .
Before commencing “ Salomé ” two even tscontributed to give Beardsley a fre sh impe tusand s t imulate h is me thod of expre ss ion : a seriesof vis it s to the co llection of Greek vase s in theBr itish Museum (prompted by an e s say of Mr
D . S . McColl) , and to the famous PeacockRoom of Mr Wh istler
,in Pr ince ’ s Gate—one
the antithe sis of Japan,the other of Burne
Jone s . Impressionable at a ll t imes to novelsensations
,hi s ar tist ic perceptions vibrated with
45
Aubrey Beardsley
is ex traordinary,in vi ew of the terr ible state
of hi s heal th . His unexampled precision ofl ine hardly ever falters ; and whi le his compos i tiou gains in simplic i ty
,his capacity for de ta i l
has not flagged . It is,perhaps
,an accident
that in his most pathe t ic drawing,Th e Death
of P ierrot,” his hand seems momentari ly to have
los t its cunning . The same year he gave us“ The Rape of the Lock
,
”regarded by some
artists as the testament of h is genius ; and aneven more astonishing se t of drawings to the“Lys istrata ” ofAris tophane s . These are granderthan the “ Rape of the Lock
,and larger in
treatment than anything he ever at tempted .
Private ly i ssued, Beardsley was able to give fullrein to a Rabe lais ian fantasy
,which he some
t ime s cultivated w ith too great pers istence .Irr itated by what he cons idered as over-nicene ssin some of h is critics
,he seemed de term ined to
frighten h i s publ ic . There i s no thing unwholesome or sugge stive about the Lys istrata ”designs : they are as frank
,free
,and outspoken
as the text . For the countrymen of Chaucerto s imulate ind ignation about them can only beexplained “ because things seen are greater thanth ings heard .
” Ye t,when an artis t frankly deals47
Aubrey Beardsley
w ith forb idden subj ects,the old hanons regular
of Engl ish art begin to thunder,the critics for
ge t their French accent ; the old Robert Adam,wh ich is in al l of us
,as sert s h imself ; we fly for
the fig-leave s . A real artis t,Beardsley has not
burdened himse lf w ith chronology or archaeo
logy. Conceived somewhat in the Spir i t of theeighteenth century
,the period of graceful in
decency,there i s here
,however
,an Olympian
air,a statuesque beauty
,only comparable to the
ant ique vases . The i llus ion is enhanced by theabsence of al l background
,and thi s gives an
added touch of severity to the compos itions .Throughout 1 896 the general tendencyof h is style remains uniform
,though wi thout
samene ss . He adapted his technique to therequirements of hi s subj ect . Mindful of thee ssential
,reject ing the needle ss
,he always
realized h i s genius and its l imitat ions . Fromthe infinite variety of th e Savoy Magazine it i sdifli cult to choose any of particular importance : for h is e laborate manner, the fir st plateto “ Under the Hit and in a s impler style
,
the fasc inat ing illustration to hi s own poem,
“ Th e Barber”
;“A‘ve Atque Vale
” and “ Th e
Death of P ier rot” have
,bes ides
,a human interest
48
THE B ATTLE OF BE AUX AND BELLESFro m Th e Rape of th e L och
Aubrey Beardsley
over and above any art ist ic quality they posse ss .For the “ Volpone ” drawings Beardsley againdeve loped h is style , and seeking for new effects ,reverted to pure penc i l work . The ornate
,
del icate ini t ial letter s,al l he l ived to finish
,
must be seen in the originals before theirsumptuous qualitie s
,their solemn melancholy
dignity,their dexterous handl ing
,can be ap
prec iated. The use of a camel ’ s-hair brush forthe il lustration s to “Mademois elle de Maupin,
”
one of his last works,should be noted
,as he so
rarely used one . Beardsley ’s invention neverfai led him
,so that it i s almos t imposs ible to take
a s ingle drawing,or set of drawings
,a s typical
of h i s art. Each design is rather a type of hi sown intellectual mood .
If the h istory of grote sque remains to bewritten
,i t is already i llustrated by his art. A
subj ect l ittle understood,it belongs to the dim
ways of criticism. There i s no canon or school,
and the ar tist is allowed to be w i lful,nutram
melled by rule or precedent. True grotesquei s not the art either of primitives or decadents
,
but that of ski lled and accomplished workmenwho have reached the zenith of a pecul iar convention
,however confined and limited that con
D 49
Aubrey Beardsley
vention may be . Byzant ine ai't,one of our
l inks wi th the Ea st,should some day furnish
us with a key to a mystery wh ich i s now obscuredby symbolists and students of serpent worship .
The Greeks,with their supreme sanity and un
r ivalled plastic sense,afford us no real example s
,
though their archaic art i s often pressed intothe category. Beardsley
,who rece ived recog
nition for thi s s ide of h is genius,emphas i zed
the grotesque to an ex tent that precluded anypopular ity among people who care on ly for thetrivial and “ pretty.
” In him it was all ied to amordan t humour
,a certain fescennine abstract ion
which somet ime s offends : thi s,however
,doe s
not excuse the use of th e’
word “ eccen tr ic,
”
more mi sapplied than any word in the Englishlanguage
,except perhaps “ grote sque ” and
“ picturesque . ” All great art is eccentric tothe conservat ive mult itude . The decoration onthe Parthenon was so eccentric that Ph eidiaswas put in pr ison . The works of Whis tlerand Burne-Jones
,once derided as eccentric
,are
now accepted as the commencement of greattraditions . Al l future art wi ll be dubbedeccentric
,trampled on
,and de spised ; even as
the firs t tulip that blos somed in England was50
Aubrey Beardsley
rooted out and burnt for a worthless weed bythe consc ientious Scotch gardener .
To compare Beardsley wi th any of h is contemporarie s would be unj ust to them and toh im . He be longed to no school
,and can leave
no legend,in the sense that Rossetti
,Whist ler
,
and Professor Legros have done he proclaimedno theory ; he left no counsel of perfect ion tothose who came after h im . In England andAmerica a horde of depre ss ing disc iples apedhis manner wi th a s ingular wan t of succe ss ;while admirable and painstaking artists modifiedtheir own convictions in the cause of unpopu
larity w ith fatal re sults . The sensuous charmof Beardsley’ s imaginat ion and his mode ofexpre ssion have only a superficial re semblanceto the foreign masters of black and white . Hecont inued no great tradit ion of the ’s ix tie s ; hasnothing in common wi th the inventive andvarious genius of Mr Charle s Ricketts noth ingof the pictorial proprie ty that dis tingu ishes thework of hi s friend
,Mr Pennell
,or the homo
geneous congruity of Boyd Houghton , CharlesKeene
,and Mr Frederic Sandys . He made use
of different s tyles where other men employeddifferent mediums . U nperplex ed by painting
5 1
Aubrey Beardsley
or e tching or l ithography , he was satisfied withthe s implest of al l materials
,attaining therewi th
unapproachable ex ecutive power . Those whocavil at his flawless technique ignore the specificqual ity of drawing characteri s ing every greatartis t. The grammar of art ex ists only to beviolated . I ts rules can be learnt by anyone .Those who have no art ist ic perception invariablyfind fault with the perspective, just as those whocannot write a we ll-balanced sentence are alwaysswift to de tect faults in grammar or spelling .
There are,of course
,weaknesses in the ex
tremities of Beardsley ’s figures—the hands andfee t being interruptions rather than continuations of the limbs . Occas ional care lessness inthi s respect i s certain ly noticeable
,and the
structure of his figures is throughout capricious .I t was no fault in his early work the hands andfee t in the “Joan of Are
,
” if crude and exag
gerated,being carefully modelled . While the
right hand of “ Salomé in “ Th e Dancer’
s
Reward,
” grasping the head of the Bapt ist,i s perfectly drawn
,the left i s feeble
,when
examined close ly. For sheer drawing nothingcan equal the nude figure in the colophon to“ Salomé . The outstretched
,qu ivering hands
5 2
Aubrey Beards ley
of Ali Baba are intentionally rendered largerthan proportion allows , to render dramat ic expre ss ion
,no t reali ty . For the purpose of effect
he adapted proportions,reali z ing that perfect
congru ity and real ity are irreconci lable . Noneof the figures in the dramat ic Battle of B eaux
and B elles” could s i t on the fal len chair in the
foreground .
There i s no need to dis turb ourselve s withhope s and fears for the e st imat ion with wh ichposterity wi l l cheri sh his memory ; art h istorycannot afford to over look him ; i t could hardlyres ist the pre tex t of moral is ing
,expatiating and
explaining away so cons iderable a factor in thebook i l lustration of the nineti es . As a merecomment on the adm irations of the last twentyyears of the nineteenth century
,Beardsley i s in
valuable ; he sums up al l the del ightful manias ,all that i s bes t in modern appreciation—Greekvases
,Italian pr imitives
,the “Hypnero tomach ia,
Chinese porce lain,Japane se Kakemonos
,Renais
sance fr ie ze s,o ld French and English furniture
,
rare ename ls,mediaeval illumination
,the de’bon
nair e masters of the eighteenth century,the
Engl ish pre-Raphaeli tes . There are differencesof kind in aesthetic beauty
,and for Beardsley i t
53
Aubrey Beardsley
was the marr iage of arabesque tO figures andobj ects come ly or fantastic
,or in themselve s
ugly . For h itherto the true arabesque abhorredthe graven image made of art ists ’ hands . Tofuture draughtsmen he wi ll have some thing ofthe value of an old master
,studied for that
fastidious technique which cr itics bel ieved tobe a trick ; and collector s of his work may l iveto be rall ied for their taste ; but the whea t andthe chaff contr ive to ex ist together through thecenturie s .A pass ing reference should be made to theBeardsley of popular de lusion . A student ofCallot and Hogarth
,he took suggest ions from
the age in which he l ived and from the l iterature Of Engl ish and French contemporarie s
,but
with no impl ic it acceptance of the tenets of anygroups or school s wh ich flutter the dove-cots ofFleet S tree t . He s tood apart
,independent o f
the sh ibboleths of art and l iterature,wi th the
grim and some t ime s mocking attent ion of aspectator . He revealed rather than created afeminine type
,offer ing no solution for the
problems of Providence .
Apply ing the epithe t “ original to an art
so intensely remini scent,so ingeniously retro
54
m u
D ’ALB ERT I N SEARCH OF IDEAL SFr om Madem ozs elle a’e Alaup zu R ep rodu ced f rom th e or zg znal i h th e pos ses s zou of Mr s B ealby
lVr zg /zt
Aubrey Beardsley
spective , m ight seem paradox ical to thoseunacquainted with Beardsley
’ s more elegantachi evements . Hi s i s not the original ity ofCoro t and Whistler
,with a new interpreta
t ion of nature,another scheme of art and
decorat ion,but rather the scholarly originality of
the Carracci—a scholarsh ip grounded on a thousand traditions and ye t striking an ent irely newnote in art. In his imagination
,his choice of
mot ive,h is love for inanimate nature
,his senti
ment for accessory,—rejec ted by many modern
ar tists,st ill so nece ssary to the modern temper
,
- his curious type,wh ich qu ite overshadowed
that of the pre-Raphael ites , the s ingular technical qual i t ie s at his command
,Beardsley has
no predece ssors,no r ival s . Who has ever
managed to suggest such co lour in masse s ofblack deftly composed ! Reference to the tex ti s unneces sary to learn that the hair of Herodiaswa s purple. His style was mobile
,dominat ing
over,or subordinate to the subj ect
,as his
genius dicta ted . He tw1sted human forms,
some wi ll think,into fantastic peculiar shapes
,
becoming more than romant ic—antinomian . Hedoe s not appeal to experience but to express ion . The tranqu i l trivial itie s of what i s usually
55
L I S T O F D R W I G S
BY AUBREY BEARD S LEYCOMP I LED BY AYMER VALLANCE
L I S T O F D R A W I N G SB Y A U B R E Y B E A R D S L E Y
JUVEN I LI A
I . A CARN IVAL . Long procession ofmany figure s in fifteen thand six teenth century costume . Water-colour draw ing .Unpublished . G iven by the artist to his grandfather
,
the late Surgeon-Maj or Wil liam Pitt. e. 1 880 .
2 . THE JAc Aw or RHE IM S , set of illustrations to the poem .
Unpublished. e . 1 884 .
V IRGIL’ S “ fENE I D, nine comic illustration s to Book I I .Th e title-page, written in rough im itation of printing ,with the Artist’ s nai'f and inaccurate spell ing , isas follows z—I LLUSTRAT I ONES DE LIBER SECUNDUSJENE I DOS PUBLIUSWI RG IU SMARONI S by B eardslius
de Brigh telmstoniensis . Th e illustration s areentitledI . Laocoon hurleth h is spear against the horse .I I . Laocoon and son crunched up .111. Little July tries to keep up with Papa . Old
Father Anch ises sitteth on Papa’ s shoulders andkeep s a good look-out .
1v. Parvi Iulus .v. Helen .VI . Panthus departs , bag and baggage .VI I . Sinon telleth h is tale unto K ing Priam .
59
Aubrey Beardsley
VI I I . One of the Cinders of Ill ium .
I x. (NO title . ) The drawing , to il lustrate twocomic verses written at the top of the paper ,represents fEneas being carried up into the airby mean s of a bal loon attached to h is helmet .
Al l the above are drawn in ordinary ink upon plainwh ite paper of the kind used for rough work at theschool , and al l are of uniform s ize, 7% x 5 inches ,ex cept No . 9 , wh ich is on a double- size sheet , measuring7% x I O inches . Unpubl ished . (Property of H . A .
Payne,E sq . ) September to December 1 886 .
VIRG IL’ S “ fENE ID,” nineteen humorous sketches i llus
trative of Book I I . , entitledI . lEneas relateth the tale to Dido .11. Laocoon hurls the spear.I I I . S inon is brought before Priam .
Iv. Ca lchas w il l not betray anyone.V All night I lay h id in a weedy lake .V I . T h e Pa lladium is snatched away .V I I . Th e Palladium jumpeth .
VI I I . Laocoon sacrificeth on the sand .
I x . Sinon open s the bolt.x . Hector’ s ghost.XI . lE neas heareth the clash of arms .x11. Panthus fleeth .X I I I . Pyrrhus exulteth .
X Iv. Death of Priam .
xv. fEneas debateth whether he shall slay Helen .XVI . Venus appeareth to fEneas .XVI I. Jupiter hurl s the lightning .XV I I I . fEneas and company set out from Troy .XIX . JEneas seeth Creusa’ s ghost .
Aubrey Beardsley
Th e above drawings in ordinary ink are con tainedin a copy-book , 8 x 6% inches. U npubl ished. E x
h ibited in London at Carfax 8c Co . ’ s Galleries ,October 1 904 . (Property of Harold Hartley, E sq . )End of 1 886 .
5 . THE PO PE WE IGH S HEAVILY ON THE CHURCH . Pendrawing contained in the same copy-book w ith thelast-named .
6 . JOHN SM ILES , a comic i llustration to the school h istorybook , represent ing King John in the act Of signingMagna Charta . Pen-dr awing on paper 73 x 5 inches.Unpublished . (Property of H . A . Payne, E sq. )
SA I NT BRADLAUGH, M.P . , a caricature . Pen-drawing ona half sheet of notepaper . Unpublished . (Property ofH . A . Payne, E sq . )
8. AUTUMN T INTS . Caricature in black and wh ite Of theartist ’ s schoolmaster, Mr Marshal l , ex pounding to h ispupi l s the beauties of nature . Unpubl ished. G iven toErnest Lambert, E sq. , Brighton . 5 . 1 886-7 .
Beside the above-named there must have been numbersof such drawing s belonging to th is early period ; for inh is schoo lday s Aubrey Beardsley was
,to quote the
words of Mr H . A . Payne,“ constantly doing these
l ittle, rough , humorous sketches, wh ich he gave awaywholesale .” Many have been destroyed or lost , o thersdispersed abroad. Thus, for in stance, one Old BrightonG rammar School boy
,C . E . Pitt - S chenkel , told
Mr Payne that he was in possess ion of some, wh ich hetook out to South Africa
Aubrey Beardsley
9 . THE JUB ILEE CR ICKET ANALYS I S . E leven tiny pen-andink sketches, entitled respectively
1 . A good bowler .11. Over .111. S l ip .IV. Square leg.v. Shooters .V I . Caught .VI I . A block .VI I I . A demon bowler.1x . S tumped.X . Long leg .X I . Cutting a ball .
Al l these subjects being represented, in humorous fash ion ,by l iteral equivalents . T hese drawings
,th ough they
cannot pretend to any merit,are notable as the earl iest
spec imens to be published of the artist ’ s work . Togetherthey formed a whole-page photo-lithograph ic illustrationin Past and Pr es ent, the Brighton Grammar SchoolMagazine
,June 1887 .
10. CONGREVE ’ S “ DOUBLE DEALER, illustration of a scenefrom
,comprisingMaskwelland Lady Touchwood . Pen
drawing with sepia wash , on a sheet Of paper 1 3 1} x 1 1
inches . Unpublished . (Property ofH . A. Payne, Esq . )S igned and dated June 30, 1 888 .
1 1 . HOLYWELL STREET. Wash drawing . F ir st published inThe Pos ter , Aug . Sept. 1 898. Republ ished in“ Th e E arly Work of Aubrey Beardsley, with aPrefatory Note by H . C . Marillier.
” John Lane,March 1 899 . (Property of Charles B . Coch ran , Esq. ,
6 2
Aubrey Beard s ley
THE PAY OF THE P IED PIPER : A L EGEND OF HAMELINT OWN . E leven l ine drawings in i llustration of, asfol lowsI . E ntrance of Counc illors , headed by Beadlecarrying a mace. Reproduced in The West
mins ter B udget, March 2 5, 1 898 .
I I . Rats feeding upon a cheese in a dish . Reproduced in Westminster B udget, March 2 5, 1 898 .
111. Ch ild cl imbing into an armchair to escape fromthe rats . Reproduced in The Poster , Aug .Sept . 1 898.
IV. The Sitting Of the Counc il , under the presidencyof the Burgomaster.
v . Deputation of Ladies .VI . Two rats on their h ind leg s, carrying Off the
Beadle’ s mace : beh ind them are three ratsrunning . Reproduced in Westminster B udget,
March 2 5, 1 898 .
VI I . Meeting between the Beadle and the Piper.
VI I I . The rats fol low the Piper out of the town . Re
published in Westminster B udget, March 2 5,1 898 , and in The Pos ter , Aug
-Sept . 1 898 .
IX . Citizens rejoice at the departure of the rats .X . The Piper is dism issed by the Beadle. Re
publ ished in Westminster B udget, March 2 5,1 898, and also in Magaz ine of Art, May1 898 .
X I . The Piper entices away the ch ildren .The above i l lustrations vary in size from 3} x 2 5 to
65 x 4% inches . They are unsigned,but a prefatory
note describes them as being “ the perfectly origina ldesigns and drawing s of a boy now in the school ,
63
Aubrey Beardsley
white and dark sepia wash . First published in“ Second Book
,
” and again in “ LaterWork .”
V. L ’Abbé B irotteau (Curé de Tours ) . 3 x 2 inches .Pen-and- ink wi th wash , on pale greenish paper .
VI . L ’Abbé Troubert (Curé de Tours ) . 5 x 2 2 inches .Dark sepia wash .
VI I . Madame Bovary. x 3§ inches . Penc il . Firstpubl ished in Second Book ,” and again inLater Work .
VI I I . Sapho (Daudet ) . Wanting . Over its place hasbeen gummed another drawing, al so wanting, itst itle written at the foot, L ’
homme gui r it.
IX . Le Cousin Pons . 5§ x 2 3 inches . Indianink .
1 Portrait Of Alphonse Daudet. 2 5} x 2—136inches .
Indian ink on pale blue paper.XI . Watteau , Ma Cousine (Cousin PODS) . 5 » x 2 %
inches. Pen-and- ink with wash on pale greytoned paper .
XII . Mademoisel le C amard (Curé de Tours ) . 3§ x 2 §inches . Indian ink wash .
XI I I . Madame Cibot (Cousin Pon s ) . 4 x 2 § inches .I ndian ink wash .
XIV. (Jack) Attendon s ! 33 inches h igh, irregular silh ouette . Dark sepia wash .
xv. Jeanne D ’Arc , the ch ildhood of. 9 x 33 inches .Sepia and madder wash on toned paper . Firstpubl ished in Second Book , ’ again in LaterWork .”
XVI . Fron tispiece to Balzac ’ s “ Contes D rOlatiques .
inches. Drawn after the manner Of65
Aubrey Beardsley
Richard Doyle. First pub lished in “ SecondBook , ” again in Later Work .”
XVI I . Ph édre (Act i i . s cene 3% x 3% inches . Penci land colours . First published in “ SecondBook , ” again in “ Later Work .”
XVII I . Manon Lescaut, three-quarter length , woman toleft, w ith fan . 5i x 3% inch es . Water-colour ongrey paper . First publ ished in Second Book , ”again in Later Work .”
XIX. Beatrice Cenc i . 6§ x 2 3 inches . Pencil and sepiawash . First publ ished in “ Second Book , ”again In “ Later Work .”Un less Otherwise stated as above, the works inth is col lection are unpubl ished ; al l were ex ecuted1 889
-90.
66
LATE R WORK .
14 . FRANCESCA DI RIM IN I (Dante) . Head in profile, to left ;penc il . First publ ished in Later Work . ”
1 5. DANTE AT THE COURT OF CAN GRANDE DELLA SCALA .Circular design
,in penc il . (Property of Miss H .
Glover . )1 6 . DANTE I N EXILE. Dante seated on the left , the words
of the Sonnet inscribed on the right, with decorat ion srecall ing some design of Wi ll iam Blake ’ s . SignedA .V.E . F irst published in “ Later Work.”
(Formerly the property of the late Hampden Gurney ,E sq. )
1 7 . I SAW THREE SHI P S COME SAILING BY ON CHR ISTMAS DAYIN THE MORNING .” Pencil . Designed as a Christmascard for the late Rev. Alfred Gurney. Publ ished in“ Later Work .” c . 1 890
- 1 .
1 8 . HAIL MARY. Profile of a head to left. Penci l drawing ,45 x 5k inches . First publ ished in The Studio,
May 1 898, again in “ Ear ly Work . (Property OfFrederick H . E vans , E sq . ) 1 89 1 .
1 9 . HEAD, three-quarter face to right, W ith a Wreath ofGrapes and Vine Leaves and background of tree t runks .Lead-penc il sketch 5% X 5
—3 inches . Unpubl ished .(Property Of John Lane, E sq . ) circa 1 89 1 .
2 0. THEL GATHER ING THE LILY. Pen-and-ink with waterco lour wash . (Formerly the property Of Robert Ross ,E sq . )
67
Aubrey Beardsley
2 7 . TANN HAUSER . S tudy for decorative compo sition,in Indian
ink . 55 x 75 inches . F irst ' publ ished in “ LaterWork . (Property of Dr Rowland Thurnam. )1 89 1 .
2 8 . WITHERED S PR ING . Decorative composition in Indianink . Catalogued in Fifty Drawings a s Lamen t ofthe Dying Year .” (Th e motif of the central part wassubsequently adapted for a Vignette in the “ MorteDarthur,
” Book I . chap . x ii. ) First publ ished in“ Later Work. (Property of D r RowlandThurnam. )
2 9 . I . PER SEU S . Pen-and- ink and l ight wash . Designfor an upright panel
,with standing nude figure,
above it a frieze of smal ler figures. 1 8 x 6%inches . First published in “ E ar ly Work . ”
(Property of Frederick H . Evan s , E sq . )I I . A penci l sketch of two figures , unfinished , on thereverse of the preceding . Publ ished in EarlyWork .”
30. L ’ABBE MOURET. Decorative des ign for frontispiece of! ola’ s “ La Faute de l’Abbé Mouret .” Ink andwash . F irst published in “ Under the H ill . JohnL ane . 1 904 . (Property Of John Lane, E sq. )
3 1 . HAMLET PATR I S MANEM SEQU ITUR. Penc il drawing.Printed in red , as frontispiece to The B ee, theMagazine of the B lackburn Technical School
,
November 1 89 1 ; reprinted , in black , in “ SecondBook ,” again in Early Work .” Latter part 1 89 1 .
3 2 . PERSEUS AND THE MON STRE . Penci l design , 5§~ x 73inches. First appeared in i llustration of an article
69
Aubrey Beardsley
entitled , “ Th e Inven tion of Aubrhy Beardsley,” byAymer Vallance, in The Magaz ine of Ar t, May 1 898again in Early Work .” (Property of AymerVal lance, E sq. ) 1 89 1 .
33 . THE PROCESS ION or JEANNE D’ARC . Penc il outline,treatmen t inspired by Mantegna , 1 9% long by 63 inchesh igh . First publ ished in Magaz ine of Ar t, May1 898 ; again as double page in “ Second Book ” ;again , reduced, in collotype , in Early Work . (Property of Frederick H . Evans, E sq. ) 1 89 1
- 2 .
A pen-and-ink vers ion Of the Process ion , 30 incheslong by 7 h igh , was made subsequently, about theSpring of 1 89 2 , for Robert Ross, E sq . Publ ished inThe Studio see be low .
34 . THE LITANY or MARY MAGDALEN . Penci l drawing.First publ ished in “ Second Book , again in “ LaterWork .” (Formerly Property of More Adey, E sq. )1 89 2 .
35. THE VIRGIN AND LILY . Madonna standing in front of aRenaissance niche and surrounded by Saints, amongthem S t John Baptist kneel ing . Penci l outl ine.Reproduced in photogravure in “ Later Work .”
(Formerly the property of the late Rev. AlfredGurney
,afterwards in the possession of h is son , the
late Hampden Gurney, E sq. )
36 .CHILDREN DECORATING A TERM INAL GOD. Pen-and-ink .(Formerly the property of M . P uvis de Chavannes . )
37.F RED BROWN , Pen-and- ink sketch of theart-master in studio . Signed w ith monogram A .V.E .
70
Aubrey Beardsley
First publ ished in “ Under the H i ll . (Property OfMiss Nell ie Syrett. )
38. STUDY OF F IGURES,horizon tal fragment from
,containing
five heads and parts of two more . Pencil . Publishedin “Under the H il l .” (Property of Miss Nell ieSyrett. )
39 . PORTRA IT OF THE ART IST . Ful l face . Pen-and- ink .First publ ished in “ Second Book , ” again in “ LaterWork .” (Presented by Robert Ross , E sq. , to theB ritish Museum . )
40 S IDON IA THE SORCERE SS . A des ign to i llustrateMeinh old’s
Romance,represen ting Sidonia, not in rel igious habit,
w ith the demon-cat, Ch im . Will iam Morris’ s critic ismthat the face of Sidonia was not pretty enough , andanother suggested improvement on the part of a friendOfAubrey Beardsley ’ s , induced h im to try to better thepicture by altering the hair. Th e result was so farfrom satisfactory that it is almost certain that thedrawing was destroyed by the artist . F irst half of1 89 2 .
4 1 . L E DEBR IS D ’UN POETE . Pen-and- ink . First publishedin “ Aubrey Beardsley, by Arthur Symons (Sign ofthe Unicorn, London , (Proper ty of AndréRaffalovich , E sq. )
4 2 . I NC IP IT V ITA NOVA . Ch inese, wh ite , and Indian inkon brown paper. First publ ished in Second Book , ”again in Later Work .” (Property of Messr s Carfax8c CO. ) 1 89 2 .
43 . HEAD or AN ANGEL, in profile, to left, flam ing heart heldin left hand . Pencil , on a half- sheet of grey notepaper,
7 1
Aubrey Beardsley
Val lance , E sq. F irst publ ished in the Magaz ine ofAr t, May 1 898 afterwards in “ Early Work .”c. 1 89 2
-3 .
48 . RAPHAEL SANz I o . Full-length figure, three-quarterface to left, a decorative panel in pen-and-ink , 10% x 3%inches, ex clusive of border lines . Unpublished . (Property of Messrs Obach 8c CO. )
49 . CEPHALUS AND PROCR I S . Pen-and- ink .
50 . SMALL BOOKMARKER, woman undress ing , a Turkish tablein the foreground . Pen-and- ink . First publ ished in“ Second Book , again in “ Later Work . (Property of Sir Will iam Geary , Bart. ) 1 893 .
5 1 . HERMAPHRODITUS , seated figure, penc i l and pale colourtints . Reproduced in co lour in “ Later Work . ”
(Property of Jul ian Sampson , Esq . )5 2 . L
’
APREs-M IDI D’UN FAUNE , par Mallarme ; four des ign sex tra- il lustrating a copy of. One of them , a pen-andink vignette of a faun
,full face , s igned with monogram
was publ ished in Second Book .” The o ther sunpubl ished . 1 89 3 .
53 . DECORATIVE SKETCH DES IGN OF A SA ILING SHIP . I é x 2 5inches . Pen-and- ink on wh ite from the back of aletter to Aymer Vallance, E sq . First publ ished i nMagaz ine of Ar t
,May 1 898 again in Early Work .”
c . 1 893 .
54 . ANGEL PLAYING HAND-ORGAN . Pen-and-ink and sl ightwash
, on pale grey notepaper, from a letter . to AymerVal lance
,E sq . First published in Magaz ine of Ar t,
May 1 898 again in Early Work . c . 1 893 .
73
Aubrey Beardsley
THE PALL MALL BUDGET, 1 893 and 1 894 .
1. MR H . A . JONE S AND H I S BAUBLE ; pen-and-ink.Feb . 2 , 1 89 3 , p . 1 50 .
I I . THE NEW CO INAGE . Four des igns that were notsent in for competition , p . 1 54 . Another design,embodying a caricature of Queen V ictoria, wassuppressed .
I I I . B ECXET AT THE LYCEUM .
I . Mr Irving as Becket ; wash drawing. Feb .
9th , front page.2 . Master Leo, p . 1 88 .
3 . Queen Eleanor, p . 1 88 .
4. Margery, p . 1 88 .
5 . Th e King makes a Move on the Board, p . 1 88 .
5 . Miss Terry (as Rosamond), p . 1 88.
7. Mr Gordon Craig , p . 1 90.
s . Th e Composer , p. 1 90.
1 . THE D I SAPPOINTMENT OF EM ILE ! OLA, p . 2 02 .
2 . EMILE ! OLA ; a portrait, p . 2 04 .
(Republ ished in “ Pal l Mal l Pictures of theYear
,
”1 893 , and in The Studio, June
v. VERDI’
s FALSTAI ‘F,” AT MILAN , Feb . 1 6th .
Initial letter V pen-and- ink , p . 2 36 .
Portrait of Verdi ; ink and wa sh , p . 2 36.
VI . POPE L EO K I I I .
’S JUBILEE , Feb . 2 3rd.
Th e Pilgrim (Old style) , p . 2 70.
T h e Pilgrim (new sty le) , p . 2 70 .
VI I . THE REAPPEARANCE OF MRS BANCROFT.
1 . Mr Arthur Cecil (Baron S tein), p . 2 8 1 .
2 . Mrs Bancroft (Lady Fairfax ) , p . 2 8 1 .
3. Mr ForbesRobertson (Jul ian B eauclere), p. 2 8 1
4. Mr Bancroft (Count O rloff) , p . 2 8 1 .
74
Aubrey Beard sley
VI I I . CAR ICATURE OF A GOLF PLAYER , in classical helmet,March 9th , p . 376 .
I x . OR PHEUS AT THE LYCEUM , March 16th .
1 . One of the Spirits,Act I I . , p . 395.
2 . O rpheus (Miss C lara Butt) , p. 39 5.
3. A Vis itor at the Rehearsal, p . 395.
4. Some Dresses in the Chorus, p. 395 .
x . PORTRAIT OF THE LATE JULE S FERRY : wash drawing
,March 2 3rd, p . 43 5 .
XI . BULLET-PROOF UNIFORM : Tommy Atkin s th ink sit rather fun , March 30, p . 49 1 .
XI I . MR FREDERICK HARR I SON ’ S IDEAL NOVELIST,Apri l 2 0, p . 6 2 0.
XI I I . A NEW YEAR’ S DREAM , after studyingMr Pennel l ’ sDevils Of Notre Dame.” Republ ished inEarly Work .” Jan . 4th , 1 894, p . 8 .
MR PARNELL,sketch portrait of th e I rish party leader
,
head and shoulders,th ree quarters face to left , penc il ,
half tone reproduction , 4% x 35 inches .1. THE STUDIO . Des ign for wrapper in two states, theorig inal. des ign containing a seated figure of Pan ,om itted in the later version . First state on brownpaper . The same, reduced , in black on green , forprospectus
,republ ished in The Studio, May 1 898 , and
again in Early Work . ”Second state
,black on green , al so in gold on rough
wh ite paper for presentation to Royalty (NOV. 1 5th ,The same
,reduced , and printed in dark
green on wh ite, for a prospectus, republ ished in Early
Work .” Th e same, enlarged and printed in blackon l ight green, for a poster.
75
Aubrey Beards ley
Studio, the artist ex perimental ly t inted it withgreen colour washes. In its final state it hasnot been publ ished . (Formerly the property ofMrs Ernest Leverson , now ofMiss K . Doulton . )
VII . Reduced reproduction of the second version of theJeanne d’Arc process ion . Th e same appeared ,ful l s iz e
,as a fo lding plate supplement, in No .
2 of The Studio, May 1 89 3 .
In the first number of The Studio (Apri l ) alsowere publ ished
,by antic ipation
,four des igns from
the “ Morte Darthur,” due to begin its serial
appearance in the fol lowing June, v i z.VI I I . Initial letter I .I X . Mer l in taketh the chi ld Arthur into his keeping
(full page, including border ) .X Ornamental border for full page .XI . Friez e for chapter-heading ; six men fighting ,
on foot , three of them panopl ied . Reproducedin Magaz ine of Ar t, November 1 896,
“ FiftyDrawings, ” I dler , March 1 897, and St P aul’s ,Apri l 9th , 1 898 . The origina l draw ing i s 1 3%Inches long by 43 inches . As may be seen ,even in the reduced reproduct ion , one inch ateither end was added by the artist at the requestof h is publ isher, so as to inc rease the proportionatelength of the ornamen t. Subsequently MrFrederick H . Evans photographed the drawing ,full s ize, and produced fifteen platinotype copies,of wh ich twelve on ly were for sale, and theplate destroyed .
DES IGN OF DANDELION S , for publ isher s ’ trade mark forDent 85 CO.
77
Aubrey Beardsley
L E MORTE DARTHUR , by S ir Thomas0 Malory . J . M .
Dent 8c CO. 300 copies on Dutch hand-made paperand 1 500 ordinary Copies . Issued in Parts, beginningJune 1 893 .
I . Vol. I . , 1 893 . Frontispiece—“ How K ingArthur saw the Questing Beast, and thereofhad great marvel . Photogravure .Full-page i l lustration s
I I . Merl in taketh the ch ild Arthur into h is keeping.(Reduced reproduction In I dler , May 1 898 .
I I I . Th e Lady of the Lake tel leth Arthur of thesword Ex calibur.
IV. Merl in and Nimue.
V. Arthur and the strange mantle.VI . HOW four queens found Launcelo t sleeping .
(Property of A. E . Gallatin , Esq.)VI I . Sir Launcelot and the Witch Hellawes . (Property
ofA . E . Gallatin , E sq. )VI I I . How la Beale I soud nursed Sir T ristram .
IX . HOW Sir Tr istram drank the love drink .X . How la Beale I soud wrote to Sir Tristram .
X I . How K ing Mark found Sir T ristram sleeping .XI I . How Morgan le Fay gave a sword to S irTristram .
XII I . Vol. II . , 1 894 . Frontispiece Th e ach ieving ofthe Sangreal . Photogravure. (Th is was thefirst design ex ecuted for the work . )Full page and double page illustrations
XIV . How K ing Mark and S ir B inadan heard SirPalomides making great sorrow and mourningfor la Beale I soud (double page ) .
xv. La Beale I soud at Joyous Gard (double page ).78
Aubrey Beardsley
XVI . How Sir L auncelot was known by Dame E laine(full page) .
XVI I . How a devi l in woman ’ s l ikeness would havetempted S ir Bors (double page ) .
XVI I I . How Queen Guenever rode on maying (doublepage ) .
XIX . How S ir Bedivere cast the sword Ex cal ibur intothe water (full page ) .
XX. How Queen Guenever made her a nun (ful l page ) .In the two volumes there are altogether 548ornaments, Chapter-headings , borders , initials,tai l-pieces, etc . but some of them are repetition s Of the same design , others reproductionsof the same des ign in two different s izes.(Two Of these are in the V ictoria and AlbertMuseum . Eight belong to Pickford Waller,E sq. Others are the property ofHon . GeraldPonsonby, R . C . Greenleaf, Esq. , W. H .
Jessop , E sq . , M . H . Sands, E sq . , Robert Ross ,E sq . , and Messrs Carfax 8c CO. )
XXI . Chapter-heading , a dragon, with conventional fol iage spray branch ing into margina l ornaments ;printed
,but not published in the book .
XXI I . Initial letter J w ith guardian griffins ; pen-and- ink,55 x 35 inches .
XXI II . Unfinished border design , first publ ished in“Wh istler ’ s Art Dicta and Other Essays byA . E . Gallatin (Boston , and London
,
(Property of A . E . Gal latin,Esq . )
XXIV. Origina l study, approved by the publisher ,for wrappers of serial issue of the “ MorteDarthur,
” yel lowish green water-colour on
79
Aubrey Beardsley
page il lustration in pen and ink . Asomuel, meaning insomnia, was a neologism of the artist’ s Owndevis ing
,made up Of the Greek alpha privative,
the Latin s omnus , and the Hebrew el, for
termination analogous to that Of other spiri ts ’names
,such as Gabriel , Raphael, Azrael , etc . ,
reproduced in Early Work , ” July 1 893 .
11 . Th e K iss of Judas . Fall-page i l lustration in penand- ink . Reproduced in “ Early Work .”
6 1 . LA COMEDI E AUX ENFERS, pen and ink , publ ished in“ Modern I llustration ,” by Joseph Pennel l . (G .
Bel l & Sons, Imp . 1 6mo . 1 893 .
6 2 . I . EVELI NA, by Frances Burney . (Den t 85 Co . ,
Design in outl ine for title-page.I I . EVELI NA AND HER GUARDIAN , des ign for il lustration ,pen and ink and wash , 6gX 4% (ex clus ive ofmarginal l ines ) , not publ ished .
111. Another il lustration for the same , “L ove for Love,a wash drawing, 7} x 53, unpublished . 1 893 .
63 . V I RGI L IUS THE SORCERER . David Nutt, 1 89 3 . Frontispiece to the large paper copies on ly . Reproduced inEarly Work .”
64 . THE LANDSLIP , frontispiece to “ Pastor Sang,being
Wil liam Wilson ’ s translation Of Bjc'
irnson’
s drama,
Over v ue .
”L ongmans 8c Co . , 1 89 3 . A black
and wh ite design , in consc ious im itation of AlbertD iirer, as the pecul iar form of the signature A . B .
shows , the only occasion on wh ich the artist employedth is device . Reproduced in “ Early Work.” (Property ofMessrs Sh irley 8c Co . , Paris . )F 8 1
Aubrey Beards ley
65 . BON Mon . 3 VOLUMES . DENT 8c Co ., 1893
I . T itle-page reproduced in L ater Work .11. F igure with foo l ’ s bauble, and another small ornament for the cover.
111. 2 08 grotesques and o ther ornaments in the threevolumes . Some of these
,however, are repeated ,
and some printed in different sizes . Th ree of
them reproduced in Later Work In anarticle by Max Beerbohm in the I dler , May1 898, accompanied by “ some drawings thathave never before been reproduced ,” are ninesmall Vignettes of the Bon Mots type , Ofwh ich number th ree only are ex plic itly ascribedto “ Bon Mots. ” (A sheet of them belong sto W . H . Jessop, E sq . Nineteen are theproperty of Pickford Wal ler, E sq. )
66. FOLLY, intended for “ Bon Mots, but not used in thebook . Th e figure is walking along a branch Of hawthorn, the left hand upraised , and holding the fool ’ sbaton ; a fl ight of butterfl ies in lower left-hand
'
corner ;
with drawing 8 x 5% inches . (Property Of LittletonHay, E sq . )
67. PAGAN PAPERS, a volume ofEssays by Kenneth Grahame.E lkin Mathews and John L ane, 1 893 . T itle-page,des ign for.
68. ADA LUNDBERG, head and shoulders to right, colouredcrayons on brown paper. Reproduced in colour inLater Work .” (Property of Julian Sampson,
69 . KEYNOTES S ER IE S OF NOVELS AND SHORT STOR IES .(The publication of th is series was begun by Messrs
8 2
Aubrey Beardsley
E lkin Mathews and John L ane, and afterwards continned by Mr John L ane alone. )I . Keynotes by George Egerton , 1 893 . T itle-pagedesign ( the same employed for the cloth cover ).O rnamental key, embodying the author ’ s monogram , Ou back Of “ Contents page ( the samedevice on the back of th e bo ok ) . Th is planwas adopted for each volume of the series .
11. The Danc ing Faun,by F loren ce Farr ( the Faun
in the design has the eyeglass and features ofJ . MCNeillWh istler ) .
I I I . Poor Folk . Tran slated from the Russ ian of
F . D o stoievsky, by Lena Milman .Iv . A Ch ild of the Age , by F ranc i s Adams .V . Th e Great God Pan and the Inmost L ight, by
Arthur Machen , also unfinished sketch in penc i lupon the back Of the finished design .
VI . Discords , by George Egerton .VI I . Prince ! aleski , by M . P . Sh iel .VI I I . Th e Woman wh o Did, by G rant Allen .IX . Women ’ s Tragedies , by H . D . Lowry, 1 895.
X . Grey Roses, by Henry Harland .XI . At the F irst Corner, and o ther S tories, by
H . B . Marriott Watson .XII . Monochromes, by E l la D ’
Arcy.
XI I I . At the Relton Arms, by Evelyn Sharp .XIV . The Girl from the Farm, by Gertrude D ix .
xv. The Mirror Of Mus ic, by S tanley V . Makower.
XVI . Yellow and Wh ite, by W . Carlton Dawe .XVI I . The Mountain Lovers , by Fiona Macleod .XVI I I . Th e Woman who Didn ’ t, by Victoria Crosse.X IX . Nobody ’ s Faul t, by Netta Syrett .
83
Aubrey Beardsley
Another draw ing of the same subject and title, butdifferent rendering , 6 x 45 inches, was in serted loose inlarge paper copies only ; not noted in Conten ts pageof the book .I I . Dreams. Reproduced in “ Later Work .” Th is
drawmg wa s ex ecuted Obviously at the sameperiod as “ Siegfried ” and “ Th e Ach ievingof the Sangreal .
I I I .,Iv. Two more drawings , intended for the same work,
but not included in it. Twenty copie s of eachwere printed privately. One of them is nupubl ished ; Of the other, the upper portion waspubl ished in “ Later Work .” These i llustration s were the earl iest Of the Artist’s des ign snot intended for publ ic c irculation .
LUCIAN ’ S TRUE H ISTORY,translated by Franc is
B ickes , illustrated by Wi ll iam S trang , J . B . C lark , andAubrey Beardsley, w ith an Introduction by CharlesWh ibley, was publ ished byA .H. Bullen . London , 1 902 .
75 . QU I LP’
S BARON VERDIGRIS . Black and wh ite . Designedfor Mes srs Henry 8c CO. First publ ished in SecondBook and again in Later Work .” 1 894 .
76. POSTER FOR “ THE COMEDY OF S IGHs , by Dr JohnTodhunter, at the Avenue Theatre, March 2 9th , 1 894 .
Three-quarter leng th figure of woman in deep blue,standing beh ind a gauze curtain with l ight green roundspo ts powdered over it, 2 85 x 45 inches . Th e samehas since been printed, the original size, in black andwh ite . T he same reduced , and printed in blue on
light green paper fo r the programme sold in the theatre85
Aubrey Beardsley
also printed in black on toned paper for the programmeofMr G . Bernard Shaw’ s play, Arms and the Man
,
”
April 2 1 st, 1 894 . Also stil l further reduced , in blackon pale mauve-pink paper for the wrapper ‘
Of MrW. B . Yeats ’ s play, Th e Land ofHearts ’ Des ire .”Reproduced in I dler magazine , March 1 897 ; again inF ifty Drawings
,
” al so in Later Work . Th is wasA ubrey Beardsley ’ s first poster design . 1 894 .
POSTER FOR MR FISHER UNWI N ’ S “ PSEUDONYML IBRARY .
” Female figure in salmon-pink dress standing on the Oppos ite s ide of the road to a second-handbook- store . Th e scheme Of colouring—salmon-pink ,orange, green , and black—was suggested to AubreyBeardsley by a F rench poster . 2 95 x 1 3 inches.Th e same reduced , in colours, to form an advertisement slip for insertion in books and magaz ines .The same reduced
,printed in black , 6 copies only,
on Japanese vellum . Reproduced in “ Fifty Drawings and Later Work .” Al so used as cover-des ignfor the “ Dream and the Business ,” by John OliverHobbes .S im ilar motif, black and wh ite drawing ; exh ibitedat the New Engl ish Art C lub Ex h ibition at the NewGallery . (Property of T . Fisher Unwin , E sq. )POSTER FOR MR FI SHER UNWIN
’S CHILDREN ’ S BOOKS .
Woman reading wh ile seated in a groaning-chai r ; blackand purple . Reproduced in black in “ Fifty Drawings and Later Work .”
79 . Poster Design . A lady and large sunflower, schemeof colouring purple and yellow. Unpublished . Pur
86
Aubrey Beardsley
chased by Mr Fisher Unwin and destroyed acc identallyin New York .
80 . SKETCH PORTRAIT OF THE ARTI ST,head and shoulders ,
three-quarter face to left ; in imaginary co stume w ithV- shaped opening to h is coat and h igh-shoulderedsleeves ; in charcoal . First published in The Shetch ,Apri l 14th , 1 894, again in Early Work .
8 1 . SKETCH PORTRAIT OF HENRY HARLAND,head and
shoulders, three-quarter face to right, in charcoal .First publ ished in The Shetch , Apri l 1 1 th , 1 894, againin Early Work . (Property of John Lane, E sq. )
8 2 . PORTRAIT OF JAME S M‘NE I LI . WHI STLER . (Property ofWalter Sickest, E sq. )
83 . THE FAT WOMAN (a caricature of Mrs Wh istler) .First publ ished in To-Day , May 1 2 th , 1 894, afterwardsrepubl ished in F ifty Drawings and L aterWorkal so in L e Courr ier Frangais , November 1 1 th , 1 894,
with th e title Une Femme bien Nourr ie.
”
(Formerlyth e property of the late Mrs Cyril Martineau (Miss K .
Savi le Clarke)84 . WAITI NG, a haggard , ex pectant woman , wearing
V-necked bodice and large black hat, seated in ares taurant, w ith a half-emp tied w ine-g lass on a smal lround table before her ; black- ink drawing , 75 x 35inches
,unpubl ished . (Property Of Pickford Wal ler,
E sq . )85. MASKED PIERROT AND F EMALE F IGURE, water andgondolas in background
,smal l square in black and
Wh ite,published in To-Day , May 1 2 th , 1 894 .
87
Aubrey Beardsley
V11. Th e S tomach Dance . (Th e author makesSalome dance
,barefooted, the Dance of the
Seven Veils. ) (Property of John Lane, E sq. )V1I1. The Toilette of Salome . Substituted for a
former drawing of the same subject, printed intwo states but withheld , the second state sabsequently publ ished in Early Work (Propertyof Robert Ross, E sq . )
1x . The Dancer’ s Reward . (Property of John L ane,E sq . )
x The Cl imax . Th is is a revised and simplerversion of the design wh ich had appeared in thefirst number of Tbe Studio.
Tailpiece . The corpse of Salome being coffinedin a puff-powder box . (Property of JohnLane, E sq . )Nos . 1V. , V. ,
and v1. of the above containcaricatures of Oscar Wi lde .
x1. Smal l design,printed in gold on cloth
,front cover
of “ Salome ” ; another , consisting of an elaboration of the artist’ s device, for the under s ide ofcover .
xn. S tudy of a design of peacock feathers for cover of“ Salome ,” not used at the time
,but sub
sequently reproduced for the first time infacsimile in “ Early Work , ” and again as anillustration fol low ing the title-page in reissueof Salome (John Lane , 1 907 ) also in goldon l ight green cloth for ornamen t of the binding,and in olive green on orange- red for the papercap . Al so in gold on blue cloth for bindingof “ Under the H ill , ” 1 904 . (Property of
89
Aubrey Beardsley
John Lane, Esq. ) Th is ( 1 907) edition , moreover, contain s the two i llustrations suppressedin the original edition , v iz . , John and Salome(Property of John Lane, now p lacedin order as No . 8 , and Th e Toilet of Salome,I L ,
” now placed as No. 1 3 (Property ofJohn Lane, E sq . ) and an original title-page .
xl11. Th e Salome drawings were reproduced the actualsize of the originals and publ ished in a portfol io .In th is was included a des ign of Salome seatedupon a settee . Described in Early Work asMaitresse d’Orchestre . (John Lane,
DANCER WITH D ommo . (The property ofH is HonourJudge Evans . )PLAYS , BY JOHN DAVIDSON . E lkin Mathews and JohnLane, 1 894 . Des ign on frontispiece to , containingportrait caricatures of Sir Augustus Harris, andOscar Wilde and Henry Harland
,black and wh ite ;
the same design in gold on the cloth cover . Re
produced in “ Early Work , ” and again , with AubreyBeardsley’ 8 letter to the Daily Cbrom
'
cle on the subject ,in “ Under the H il l , ” 1 904 . (Property of JohnLane, Esq. )Design for Title-Page of the above-named. B lackand wh ite ; reproduced in Early Work .
T 1112 YELLOW Boox, 1 894. AND 1 895.
1. Design for prospectus of the Yellow Book awoman ex am in ing books in a box at a booksta ll ;black on yel low paper . E lkin Mathews andJohn Lane, 1 894 . (Property of John Lane,E sq. )
90
Aubrey Beardsley
Vol . I . , Apri l 1 894 . E lkin Mathews and JohnIs ane.
11. Design on fron t s ide of yel low cover. (Propertyof John Lane, E sq . )
111. Design on under s ide of cover the same repeatedin the later volumes . (Property of John Lane ,E sq . )
1v. Des ign on title-page : a woman '
playing a piano in ameadow. Reproduced , with Aubrey Beardsley’ 3letter on the subject , to the P all Mall B udget,
in “ Under the H ill ” (Property of
John Lane, E sq. )v. L ’Education Sentimen tale : in l ine and wash .V1 . Night Piece.v11. Portrait ofMrs Patr ick Campbel l in profi le , to left
in outline. Formerly in possession of OscarWilde, now in National Gallery at Berl in .
V11I . Bookplate (designed in 1 893 ) for John LumsdenP rOpert, E sq .
Vo l . I I . , July 1 894 . E lkin Mathews and JohnLane.
1x . Design on front side of cover. (Property of JohnLane
,E sq . )
it. Design on title-page .111. The Comedy-Ballet ofMarionettes . Three designs .x 11. Garcon s de Café . Property ofA . W. K ing , Esq .)mm. The S lippers of Cinderella. Th e artist subsequently
coloured the original with scarlet and green ,in wh ich state it is unpubl ished. (Property ofB randon Thomas, E sq . )
9 1
Aubrey Beardsley
xxv. Th e Mysterious Ro se Garden , burlesque Annunc iation. (Property of John Lane , E sq . )
xxvr. The Repentance of Mrs (Th e kneelingfigure is a reminiscence of the princ ipal one inTh e Litany of Mary Magdalen .”
xxvn . Portrait of Miss Winifred Emery (outl ine ) .(Property of Mrs Cyril Maude . )
xxvm . Frontispiece for Juvenal . Double-page supplement.
xx1x . Design for “ Yellow Book Cover, not used.Firs t published in Early Work .” (Propertyof John L ane, E sq.)
xxx. Show-card to advertise “ The Yel low Bookfemale figure standing , her hat hanging fromh er right hand, and daffodil s growing at h erfeet. Dark green on l ight yel low paper .Reproduced in black-and-White in “ EarlyWork .” (The property of John Lane, E sq. )
90. PORTRA IT or RfiJANE wearing a broad-brimmed hatwith dark bow in front, head and shoulders, full faceslightly to left, wash drawing . Reproduced by SwanE lectric Engraving Company for the Yellow Book , ”but not used . Unpubl ished.
9 1 .REJANE , black-and-wh ite design of the actress standing ,half length
,fan in hand, against a wh ite curtain with
con spicuous tassel . First publ ished in Second Book, ”and again
,in a reduced state , as T itle-page ornament,
h itherto unpubl ished ” in E arly Work .” 1 893-4 .
93
Aubrey Beardsley
9 2 . MADAME REJANE , full-length portrait sketch , ink andwash . First publ ished in “ Second Book ,” again inLater Work .”
9 3 . MADAME REJANE, profile to left ; s itting , legs ex
tended , ou a sofa, ink and wash . First publishedin “ Pen Draw ing and Pen Draughtsmen
,
” byJoseph Pennell (Macm il lan, again in “ FiftyDrawings
,
” and in the I dler Magazine, March 1 897
94 . REJANE , po rtrait head in profi le to left , in red crayonand black ink , 7% x 6 inches . First published infacsimi le in Tbe Studio, May 1 898 , again in “ LaterWork .
”
(Property of Frederick H . Evan s,E sq. )
1 894 .
9 5. A POSTER DES IGN . Back view of a woman , her face inprofi le to right
,holding a pigmy in her right hand .
First publ ished in “ E arly Work .” (Proper ty ofJohn Lane, Esq. )
96. A POSTER D Es1GN (Singer) . Woman seated at a piano .First reproduced in Tlye P orter , Octobe r 1 89 8,
again in “ Second Book ” and in Later Work .”
9 7 . LADY To R IGHT GA! ING AT A HAT ON A M1LL1NER’s
BONN ET STAND, headpiece for the “ I dlers ’ Club ”section in the I dler Magazine , 1 894.
98 . PIERROT AND BLACK CAT, smal l square in black-andwhite for a book ornament.
99 . HEAD AND SHOULDERS OF A CH INESE PR IEST, togetherwith the Head of a Satyr. 2 5 copies on ly printed on
fo l io sheet,and to copies on ly in red. I t is no t known
94
Aubrey Beardsley
for what they were intended . Published by JamesTregaskis, Cax ton Head .
100 L E s PASSADES , night scene , in pen-and- ink with inkwash , l o x s inches . First publ ished in To-Day ,
November 1 7, 1 894, again in the I dler Magazine ,March 1 897.
10 1 . VENUS BETWEEN TERM1NAL GODS . Frontispiece for avers ion of the Tannh 'auser legend, to be published byMessrs H . Henry8c Co . L td .
,a project never completed .
Design in black-and-wh ite , showing , espec ial ly in thetreatment of flying dove and of the background of rosetrell is, the influence of Charles Ricketts or LaurenceHousman . Reproduced in Second Book , ” and againin “ Later Work .” Circa 1 894
-
5.
102 . FRONT13P1ECEANDTiTLE-PAGE , together forming one complete des ign , for The S tory ofVenus and Tannh
'
auser,
”
to be published by John Lane, but never completed . (CfUnder the H il l in Tb: Savoy , Reproducedin Early Work. Dated 1 895. (Proper ty of JohnLane, E sq . )
103 . THE RETURN OF TANNHAUSER To VENUSBERG. A designoriginally intended for the above-named book . Subsequently presen ted by the artist to J. M . Dent, E sq .F irst publ ished, in i llustration of an article by MaxBeerbohm , in the I dler Magazine for May 1 898, andagain
,in larger format and, as the initial s in left hand
corner show , reversed , in “ Second Book ” and againin “ Later Work .” Th e I dler vers ion has a sl ighteffect of half-tone in the brambles in the foreground
,
but the LaterWork reproduction is pure black-andwh ite contrast .
95
I I I .
1 1 2 .
1 1 3 .
1 1 4 .
1 1 5.
Aubrey Beardsley
(Stone 8c Kimbal l , Ch icago , 1 89 5) fourdesign s in pen-and- ink for large paper edition of
1. T h e Murders in the Rue Morgue.11. Th e Black Cat .111. Th e Masque of the Red Death . F irst publ ishedin the Chap Book ” (Ch icago ) , Aug . 1 5,
1 894 , again in same , Apri l 1 , 1 898 .
W. The Fal l of the House of Usher .OUTL1NE PORTRA1T OF THE ART1ST in profile to left ;in imaginary costume
,with a lace ruff to th e neck
,and
earrings in th e ears. Publ ished in “ Posters in Miniature
,
”and again in Early Work.” A half-tone block
from var i ant of th e same, the earr ing as we l l as thebutton on lappel and waist of coat more pronounced
,
was publ ished in Tbe Hour, March 2 7 , 1 89 5, and
reproduced in Magaz ine of Art,November 1 896.
A CH1LD STAND1NG BY 1Ts MOTHER ’ S B ED, black- andwh ite , ch iefly outline . First publ ished in TbeSlets/1 , April10 , 1 89 5. Reproduced in Early Work . ” Formerlyin the possess ion ofMax Beerbohm , Esq . , but since lost.THE SCARLET PASTORALE , pen-and-ink . First publ ishedin Tbc Séetel) , Apri l 10 , 1 89 5. Also printed in scarleton wh ite. Reproduced in F ifty Drawings.”
PORTRArr o r M1s s ETHEL DEVEREUX , penc il drawing .(Property ofMrs Roy Devereux . ) Circa 1 89 5.
D ES1GN FOR AN I NV1TAT10N CARD, ink outl ine ; seatedP ierrot smoking , a copy of the Yel low Book , Vo l .IV . , on the couch at h is side . Drawn for Mr JohnLane ’ s Sette of Odd Volumes Smoke . Reproducedin Tb: Studio, September 1 895. (Property of JohnLane
,E sq. )
G 97
Aubrey Beardsley
1 16 . THREE DECORATIVE DESIGN S from’ the brown papercover of Aubrey Beard sley’ s own copy of T ristan undI solde .” Two reproduced in Later Work .” (Property of Frederick H . Evans, E sq. )
1 1 7 . MAX ALVARY As “ TR I STAN in Wagner’ s Opera“ T ristan und I solde, ” half- length profile to left, penand-ink and wash with unusual monogram signature .1 0 x 55 inches . First publ ished in Aubrey Beardsley’ 8Drawings
,a catalogue and a list of cr iticisms, ” by
A . E . Gallatin (New York, (Former ly theproperty of Rev. G . H . Palmer, now of A. E .
Gallatin , E sq. )1 1 8 . FRAU KLAFSKY AS ISOLDE in above-named opera ,pen-and- ink and pale green water-colour, 3 x 4§ inches .First published in the Cr itic (New York ) , Dec ember ,1 902 . (Formerly the property of Rev . G . H . Palmer
,
now ofA . E . Gallatin , E sq. )
1 1 9 . I SOLDE autol ithograph in scarlet, grey , green , and blackon wh ite ; supplement to Tbc Studio, Oc tober 1 895.
1 2 0 . WOMAN RECLIN ING 1N A MEADOW BY THE BORDER OF ALAKE , LI STEN ING To A FAUN READ1NG OUT OF A BOOKTo HER . Oblong des ign in ink on wh ite ; a variant ofthe design for wrapper of Leonard Smithers ’ Catalogue
,
No . 3 . F irst published in Tbe Studio, May 1 898 ,
again in “ Early Work , where it is described as“ h itherto unpublished . ” (Property of John Lane ,E sq. ) 1 895.
1 2 1 . DES IGN FOR WRAP PER OF CATALOGUE OF RAREBOOKS
,
” No. 3 . (Leonard Smithers , September 1 89The same figures as in the last-named, but the landscape
98
Aubrey Beardsley
has an urn and add itional trees to adapt the des ign toupright shape . Black on pale blue-green paper .
1 2 2 . CHOP IN BALLADE I I I . , il lustration for . Woman rider,mounted on a pranc ing wh ite horse to left. Washd rawing . First published in Tbc Studio, May 1 898,
in half tones of grey, w ith deep purp lish black ; againin “ Second Book .” (Property of Char les Holme
,
E sq. ) I 895.
1 2 3 . CHOP IN ’ S NOCTURNES , frontispiece to . Pen-and-ink andwash . First publ ished in E arly Work .” (Prope rty of John Lane, E sq . )
1 2 4 . EARL LAVENDER , by John Davidson (Ward 8c Downey,design for fronti spiece to . Woman scourging a
kneel ing , barebacked figure . Pen-and- ink outl ine. Re
produced in Early Work . (Property of John Lane ,E sq . )
1 2 5 . YOUNG OFEG’
s D ITTIES , by George Egerton (JohnLane
,title-page and cover design for.
1 2 6. MESSALINA, w ith another woman on her left, black-andwh ite
,with black background . First published in
“ Second Book , ” again in “ Early Work ,
” where itis described as hitherto unpubl ished . 1 89 5.
1 2 7 . T ITLE-PAGE ORNAMENT, standing nude figure playingdouble-bass
,black background . Fir st publ ished in
Early Work . ”
1 2 8. PORTRAIT OF M 1ss L ETTY L 1ND in “ Th e Artist’ sModel .” Pen-and- ink outline. Publ ished in EarlyWork . (Property of Miss Letty L ind . )
99
Aubrey Beardsley
1 38 . ORNAMENTAL T ITLE-PAGE FOR THE PARADE. MessrsH . Henry 81 Co . , L td . , 1 896. Reproduced in“ L ater Work .
I 39 . TA IL- P IECE to Catalogue of Lord Carnarvon’ s L ibrary,1 896 .
1 40. SAPPHO, by H . T . Wharton . (John L ane ,Design for cover in gold on blue. Reproduced inEarly Work . ” (Property of John Lane, E sq . )
1 4 1 . PIERROT’ S L IBRARY. (John Lane, Des ign fortitle-page of, two des ign s for end papers , printed in ol ivegreen ; design for front cover and vignette for reservecover, printed in gold on red cloth . Reproduced inEarly Work .
”
(Property of John Lane, E sq . )1 4 2 . LOVE EN SHRINED I N A HEART I N THE S HAPE OF AMIRROR ,pen-and- ink . F irst publ ished in Aubrey Beardsleyby Ar thur Symons. ( Sign of the Unicorn ,(Property of André Raffalovich , E sq. )
1 43 . THE LYS I STRATA or AR ISTOPHAN ES . (L eonard Sm ithers ,privately printed, Eight pen-and- ink des ignsto i llustrate
I . Lysistrata .I I . The T oilet of L ampito .
111. Lysistrata haranguing the Athenian Women .Iv . Lysistrata defending the Acropolis .V . Two Athenian Women in Distress .VI . Cines ias sol iciting Myrrh ina.
VI I . The Ex am ination of the Herald .VII I . Th e L acedemonian Ambassadors .An ex purgated version of No . 3 was publ ished inSecond Book , ” and was repeated together with
10 1
Aubrey Beardsley
ex purgated vers ion s or fragmen ts from the temainder of the set in L ater Work .
”
144 . THE RAPE OF THE LOCK , byAlex ander Pope . An h eroicomical poem in five cantos , “ embroidered with ninedrawings by Aubrey Beardsley, ” 4to. LeonardSm ithers
,1 896. Now published by John Lane .
(Property of Messrs Keppel , New York . )1. Th e Dream .
11. Th e B il let-Doux ( vignette) . Reproduced inSt P aul
’s , Apri l 2 , 1898 . (Property of
Mrs Edmund Davis . )111. Th e Toilet .Iv. Th e Baron ’ s Prayer .v. The Barge .VI . Th e Rape of the Lo ck . (Th e property of
Messrs Keppel , New York . )VI I . The Cave of Spleen . ‘
VI I I . Th e Battle of the Beaux and the Bel les . Re
produced in the I dler , March 1 89 7 .
1x . T h e New S tar ( cul-de- lampe) .Cover design for the original edition .Cover design for the B ijou edition . (John Lane . )Reproduced in Later Work .”
1 45. DES IGN FOR WRAPPER or CATALOGUE or RARE BOOKS ,No . 7 . (Leonard Sm ithers, A lady seatedon a striped settee reading ; a parrot on stand on th e
r ight . Black on leaden-grey paper. Reproduced inSecond Book , ” 1 896 , and Later Work .”
146 . THE PROSPECTUS OF THE SAVOY . DESIGN FOR.I . A burlesque Cupid on a stage w ith footlights, onehand holding a copy of the book , whence it
1 0 2
Aubrey Beardsley
appears that the original intention was to producethe first number in December 1 89 5. Reproduced in Later Work .” Latter part of
1 89 5. (Property of John Lane , E sq. )-I I . A suppressed varian t of the above, same mo tif
reversed , only w ith John Bull subs tituted forthe Cupid. Reproduced in L ater Work . ”
111. Initial letter A in the above Pro spectus . Reproduced in Later Work .”
Iv. Publ isher ’ s T rade-mark for Leonard Sm ithers .First publ ished in Savoy Prospectus . Thesame
,name om itted , appears in L ater Work
w ith the title of Siegfried , ” 1 89 5.
THE SAVOY, No . 1 , January 1 896 . (LeonardSm ither s . )
v. Cover design , in two states. Th e original wassuppressed because it depicted too realistical lythe contempt of the ch ild in the foreground forthe “ Yellow Book , ” with wh ich the artist hadrecently ceased to be connected . Th e revisedversion was republished in F ifty Drawings, ”and again in “ Later Work . (Property of
Mrs George Bealby Wright. )v1. T itle-page . Repeated as title-page in No . 2 , and
republished in Later Work. ”v11. Drawing to face Contents . Caricature of John
Bull . Republ ished in L ater Work .”
VI I I . T h e Three Music ians . I llustration of the artist’ spoem
,same title . Republ ished in Fifty
Drawings ” and L ater Work .11 . Another drawing to illustrate the above, but with
1 03
Aubrey Beardsley
XVI I I . A Foot-note . (Fancy portrait of the artist . ) Re
publ ished,w ith om issions , in L ater Work .
”
Al so adapted in gold on scarle t for cloth coverof “ Second Book .”
X IX. The E cstasy of Saint Ro se of L ima. Illustrationof Under the H i ll . ” Republished in F iftyDrawing s and Later Work . ”
xx . The Th ird Tableau of “ Das Rheingold. Re
published in F ifty Draw ing s and LaterWork . ”Scene reproduced from Th e Rape of the Lock .
THE SAVOY. NO. 3 . July 1 896.
XXI . Cover Design . Republ ished in Later Work .XXI I . T itle-page . Puck on Pegasus . Repeated for the
t itle of all the succeeding numbers . Republ ishedin Later Work . ” Also, reduced , as des ign fortitle-page of F ifty Drawings,” and in goldon scar let for the under s ide of cloth cover ofsame .
XXI I I . The Co iffing. Th is and the following des ignaccompanied Aubrey Beardsley ’ s “ Ballad of aBarber .” T h e Co iffing was republ ished in theI dler Magazine, March 1 89 7, and in “ FiftyDrawings ” and “ Later Work .” (Propertyof Messrs Obach 8: Co . )
XXIV. A Cul-de-Lampe . Cupid carrying a gibbet. Re
publ ished in Later Work . ”
THE SAVOY . No . 4 . August 1 896 .
XXV . Cover Design . Republished in Later Work .
I 05
Aubrey Beardsley
THE SAVOY . No . 5. Septembe r 1 896 .
XXVI . Cover Design . (Signed, for a practical joke , G iulioF loriani . ) Republ ished in F ifty Drawingsand Later Work . ”
XXVI I . Th e Woman in Wh ite . A sketch in wh ite on
brown paper . Republ ished in F ifty Drawings”and Later Work .
THE SAVOY. No . 6. October 1 896.
XXVI I I . Cover Design the Fourth Tableau of“Das Rheingold .” Republ ished in Fifty Drawings andLater Work .”
XXIX . Th e Death ofPierrot . A pen-and- ink sketch . Reproduced in “ Later Work . ” (Property ofMessrs Obach 8c Co . )
THE SAVOY. No . 7. November 1 896.
XXX . Cover Des ign . Republ ished in Later Work'.xxxr. Ave atque Vale ; Catullus, Carmen C. I . Repub
lished in F iftyDrawings and “ LaterWork.XXXI I . Tristan und Isolde . Republ ished in “ Later
Work . ”
THE SAVOY . No . 8 ( the last issued ) . December 1 896 .
XXXI I I . Cover Des ign . Republ ished in “ Later Work .T h e same adapted , with the addition of heavyblack bands
,and is prin ted in green and scarlet,
for small poster to advertise the completed work .XxxIV. A RépétI tI on of Tr istan und I solde .” Repub
lish ed in L ater Work .”1 06
Aubrey Beardsley
X XXV. Don Juan , Sganarelle and the Beggar ; fromMo l iere ’ s Don Juan .” ,Republ ished in L aterWork . ”
XXXVI . Mrs MargeryP inchwife , fromWill iamWycherley ’ sCountry Wife. ” Republ ished in LaterWork . ”
XXXVI I . Front ispiece to The Comedy of the Rheingold .Republ ished in L ater Work .”
XXXVI I I . Flo ssh ilde , a Rh ine Maiden ; to i llustrate “ DasRheingold . Republished in Later Work .”
(Property of Herbert J. Pollit, E sq. )XXXIX . Erda ; to il lustrate Das Rheingold . Re
publ ished in Later Work .X L. A lberich ; to i llustrate Das Rheingold . Re
published in Later Work . (Property of
Herbert J. Pollit, E sq. )XLI . Fel ix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Republ ished in
“ Later Work . ” (Property of Herbert J.Pollit
,E sq. )
XLI I. Carl Maria von Weber . Republ ished in LaterWork . ”
X Llll. Count Valmont , from “ Les Liaisons Dangercuses , by Ch oderlos de Laclos . Republishedin Later Work.”
X LIV . E t in Arcadia Ego . Republ ished in “ LaterWork .”
XLV. Smal l ornament for the cover of bound volumes ofT h e Savoy .”
XLVI . SKETCH o r A CHILD (young girl ) , unfinished, in.
penc i l , on the reverse of A Foot-note .” First1 07
Aubrey Beardsley
1 54 . COVER DESIGN FOR A BOOK OF F IFTY DRAWI NGS , BYAUBREY BEARDSLEY. Leonard Sm ithers
, 1 89 7 .
Reproduced in gold on scarlet clo th . Republ ished on
a reduced scale,in black-and-Wh ite, in Later Work .”
1 55 . S ILHOUETTE OF THE ARTI ST. First publ ished as a tailpiece at the end of F ifty Drawings. ” Al so in I dlerMagaz ine , March 1 897 , and in L ater Work .”
1 56 . BOOK-PLATE OF THE ARTI ST . First published in “ FiftyDrawing s
,
”1 897 , al so in Later Work .”
1 57. AL I BABA . COVER DES IGN FOR THE FORTY THI EVEs .
I . F irst published in Second Book , ” again in“ Later Work , ” 1 90 1 . (Property of Messr sRobson 85 Co . )
11. ALI BABA IN THE WOOD. First published in“ Fifty Drawings
,1 89 7 . Al so in I dler ,
May 1 898 , and again in Later Work .”
1 58 . ATALANTA IN CALYDON . First published in “ FiftyDraw ings , ” 1 897 also in the I dler Magaz ine, March1 89 7, and again in Later Work . ” (Th is drawingwas ex h ib ited at the Carfax Ex h ibition , October 1 904 ,under the title of Diana
,
”
1 59 . MESSALINA RETURN ING FROM THE BATH . Pen-and- inkand water colour s . First publ ished in Second Book , ”again in “ Later Work .” Th is d rawing , togetherWith the other one of Messal ina , drawn in 1 895 ( sees upra) , two of Bathyllus , and one representing Juvenalscourging a woman (th i s last, sl ightly altered , reproduced in “ Later belong s to a series ofi llustrations to the Sixtb Satire of Juvenal . LeonardSm ithers
,privately printed, 1 897 .
I 09
Aubrey Beardsley
1 60. THE HOUSES OF S IN, by Vincent O ’
sull ivan . Leonard
1 6 1 .
1 6 2 .
1 63 .
Sm ithers, 1 89 7 . Cover design ' for. Reproduced inSecond Book
,again in Later Work . ”
L A DAME AUX CAMEL IAS . Sketch in water colour toright . On the fly- leaf of a copy of the book given tothe artist by M. A lex andre Dumas
,fils . First published
in Second Book, ” again in Later Work.
”1 897 .
BOOK-PLATE FOR M ISS OL IVE CUSTANCE (Lady AlfredDouglas). Reproduced in photogravure in “ EarlyWork. ”
ARBUSCULA . Drawing in l ine and wash , for the editionde luxe of Vuillier
’
s H istory Of Dancing .” Wil liamHeinemann
, 1 897 . Reproduced in photogravure ;a lso an early impression of the same printed in a greentint . (Property of John L ane , E sq. )
1 64 . MADEMOI SELLE DE MAUP IN , by Theoph ile Gautier.
Leonard Smithers, 1 898 . Des ign s to il lustrate
1. Mademoisel le de Maupin , fron tispiece, watercolour . Reproduced in facs im ile by MessrsB ous sod, Valadon 8: Co .
, for l im ited edition ,and
,like the rest
,in photogravure for ordinary
ed ition . Reproduced as frontispiece to LaterWork .
11. D ’Albert ( smal l design ) .111. D
’
Albert in search of Ideals . (Proper ty of MrsGeorge B ealbyWright. )
IV. Th e Lady at the Dressing Table. (Property ofWalter Pollett
,E sq. )
V. Th e Lady with the Rose .VI . Th e Lady with the Monkey. Al l the abovereproduced in photogravure in Later Work .”
I l O
Aubrey Beardsley
B EN JON SON H I S VOLPONE : OR THE FOX E . 4 to .L eonard Sm ithers
, 1 898 .
I . Design in gold on blue for the cloth cover. Samein black-and-wh ite for Opening page. Frontispiece, des ign in pen-and- ink .
I I . V ignette to the Argumen t. Initia l letter V,with
column and tassel led attachmen ts to the capital.Th is and the remaining des igns were ex ecutedin pen and crayon .
I I I. V ignette to Act I . Initia l letter V , with anelephant
,hav ing a basket of fruits on h is back .
(Property of Herbert J. Pollit, E sq. )IV. Vignette to Act I I . Initial letter S , w ith amonster bird , having a pearl chain attached toits head . (Property of Herbert J. Pollit,Esq . )
V. V ignette to Act I I I . Initial letter M , with seatedVenus and Cupid under a canopy, between twofantastic gynaecomo rph ic .
columns . (Propertyof Herbert J . Pollit, Esq . )V ignette to Act IV . (Th e same as the designfor Act I I . repeated . )
VI . V ignette to Act V . Initial letter V , With a hornedterm inal figure of a man or satyr . (Propertyof Herbert J . Pollit, E sq. )
Al l these Volpone designs were reproduced in LaterWork .
” Drawn at the close of 1 897 and earlypart of 1 898, they constitute the latest designs produced by Aubrey Beard sley before h is death .In h is publ ished Li st
,Mr A . E . Gal latin mentions
severa l sketches and other draw ings in private letterswh ich
,for lack of detai led information , I have not in
I l I
A L I S T O F V O L U M E S
CONTAINING ILLUSTRATIONS
B Y AU B R EY B EARD S L EY
THE EARLY WORK OF
AU BREY BEARD SLEYWITH AN INTRODUCT ION BY H . C. MAR I LL I ER
Pr ice 42 8 . net ( orig inal ly pub l i shed at 3 1 5 6d. net)Als o an E dition pr inted upon Japanese Vellum,
limited to one bundr ed and tw enty copies for
publisbed at 638 . net) . Only s ix copies of I bis
HIS handsome vo lume was pub l i shed soon after Beardsley’ sdeath . It contain s mo s t of h i s wo rk Up to the t ime of h i sc eas ing to be assoc iated w ith the art ed itor sh ip of “ Th e
Yel low Book,
” and inc ludes th e remarkab le des ign s i l lu stratingSalome
,
” long s in ce out of p r int . T hese are c on s idered by thec r itic s as among the be st and mo st indiv idual work h e d id .
There are in al l upwards of 1 80 reproduc tion s , in addit ion to
two character i st ic pho tograph s of Beardsley , taken by Mr
Freder ick H . Evan s .
THE LATER WORK OF
AUBREY BEARD SLEYDemy 4to . Pr ic e 42 8 . net
Als o a limited E dition of one bundred and tw enty
copiesfor E nglandandAmer ica, pr inted on Japanes e
Vellum. 705 5 . net (or iginallypublisbedat 845 . net) .
THIS co l lec tion was not pub l i shed un t i l nearly th ree yearsafter Beardsley ’s death
,and contain s most of the des ign s
not inc luded in “ T h e Early Work .
”Th e two vo lumes
thu s form an almo st complete record of h i s arti sti c produc tion .
In all there are upward s of 1 70 reproduct ion s , inc lud ing 3 inc o lour and 1 1 in photogravure.In th e Japanese Vellum ed ition several illu stration s are repro
duc ed in photogravure , in stead of half-tone as in the ord inaryed ition , wh i l st the front i sp iece i s hand-coloured .
THE RAPE OF THE LOCK
BY ALEXANDER POPEWith N ine Fu ll-page I llu strat ion s by AUBREY BEARDSLEY
Crown 4to . Pr ic e 1 03 . 6d. net
Very few copies r emain of I bis ‘volume, w bicb w as
or iginally publisbed at 75 . 6d. net. Tbc Japanes e
Vellum E dition is exbaus ted.
ERHAP S , w ith the excep tion o f th e ser ies of drawings i l lu strat ing Salome , ” no des ign s are more character i s ti c , morestr ik ingly or ig inal, than tho se c on tained in “ Th e Rap e of
the Lock .
” T h e ed it ion i s now rap id ly n ear ing ex hau s tion,and the pub l i sher has dec i ded no t to re - i s sue i t in the or ig in al
fo rm . T h i s work w i th the original i llu strat ion s i s inc luded a sVol . IX . of “ T h e F lowers of Parn assu s . ” Demy I 6mo ( 5g x 4%inches) . Bound in Cloth
,Pr ice 1 8 . net. Bound in Leather ,
Pr ic e 1 8 . 6d. net.
THE YELLOW BOOK
AN ILLU STRATED QUARTERLYL ITERARY EDITOR—HENRY HARLAND
ART EDITOR (Vols . 1. to IV. )—AUBREY BEARDSLEYFcap . 4to . Pr ice 53 . n et . 1 3 Volume s .I . Apr i l 1 894.
I I . Ju ly 1 894.
I I I . Oc tober 1 894.
IV . J anuary 1 895 .
V . Ap r i l 1 895.
V I . Ju ly 1 895 .
V I I . Oc tober 1 895 .
V I I I . January 1 896 .
I X . Apr i l 1 896 .
X . Ju ly 1 896 .
X I . Oc tober 1 896 .
X I I . January 1 897 .
X I I I . Apr i l 1 897 .
2 7 2 pp . 1 5 I llustrat ion s .364 pp . 2 3 Illu stration s .2 80 pp . 1 5 I l lu s tration s.2 85 pp . 1 6 I l lust rat ion s .3 1 7 pp . 1 4 I l lu strat ion s .3 35 p p . 1 6 Illu strat ion s .3 2 0 pp . 2 0 I llustrat ion s .406 pp . 2 6 I llu strat ion s .2 56 pp . 1 7 I l lu stra tion s .340 pp . 1 3 I l lu strat ion s .34 2 pp . 1 3 I l lu strat ion s .350 pp . 14 I l lu strat ion s .3 1 6 pp . 1 8 I l lu s tra tion s .
[T was in h i s capac i ty as art-edito r of “ Th e Yellow Book ” thatBeardsley made h i s fir st c laim to pub l i c not ice . T h e earl i ervo lumes conta in twen ty design s from h i s pen c i l
,in addi t ion
to a number of O ther s from th e best known b lack and wh itearti st s of the day .
LI ST OF CONTR I BUTORS TO
TH E YELLOW BOOKLITERARY
Bar ing , Hon . Mau riceBeerbohm ,
Max
Ben son,A . C .
Buchan , JohnCorvo , Freder ick BaronCrackanth o rp e , HubertCro s se , Vic tor i aCu stance , Ol i veD
’Arcy, E l laDavid son , JohnDob son
,Au st in
Dow ie,Mén ie Muriel
Dowson,E rnes t
Egerton , George
Franc e,Anato le
Freder ic,Haro ld
Fu l lerton,Merton
Gale,Norman
Garnett,R ichard
Gilchr i st , R . MurrayGi s s ing
,George
Go s se,Edmund
Grahame,M rs Cunn ingham
Grahame, K ennethGreenwood
,Freder i ck
Hamer ton , Ph i l ip Gi lbertHapgood,Norman
Harland,Henry
LIST OF CONTR IBUTORS TO THE YELLOW BOOK
Hobbes,John Ol iver
Hopper , NoraJames,Henry
John son , LionelLee , VernonLe Gallienne , R ichardLever son
,Mrs Erne st
Mcc hesney , Dora Greenwel lM iall
,A . Be rnard
Money-Coutts , F . B .
Moore , GeorgeNesb it,E .
Nev in son,Henry W.
Ph i ll ip s,S tephen
Prestage , EdgarPrevo st
,Franc i s
Radford, Dol lyRaleigh
,Walter
R i sley , R . V .
Ball,W i lfr id
Beardsley,Aub rey
Beerbohm ,Max
Bell,R . Ann ing
Bram ley , F rank , A .R .A .
Cameron,D . Y .
Cameron,K atharine
Chr i st ie,J . E .
Conder,Charles ’
Co tman , F . G .
Crane , Walter”
Crawhall , J .D earmer , Mabel
D rape r , H . J.
Eden,Sir W ill iam , Bart.
F orbe s , El iz abeth StanhopeForbes,Stanhopeg' A .R .A .
Fur se , Char le s W .
Gask in,A . J .
Gask in,Mrs A . J .
Gotch , Ca rol ineGotc h , T . C.
Guthr i e,Jame s
Hammond , Ger trude D .
Hartr ick , H . S .Hen ry
,George
Horn el,E .
Hou sman,Lau renc e
R obert s, Ch arles G. D .
Robertson , John M .
Ru s sel l , T . BaronSalt
, H . S .Sharp
,Evelyn
Street,G . S .
Strettell, AlmaSwettenham
,Sir Frank
Symon s,Arthur
T adema , Laurence AlmaT om son
,G raham R .
T rai ll,H . D .
Watson , Ro samund MarriottWatson,Will iam
Watt,Franc i s
Watts , TheodoreWells,H G .
Yeats,W. B .
ART IST ICHoward , Franc i sHyde , W i lliamLavery
,John f
Le igh ton , LordMacdonald, FrancesMacdonald , MargaretMacD ougalI , W . BrownMcNair
, J . HerbertNettlesh ip , J . T .
New,E . H.
Pennell , Jo seph/P imlo tt , E. PhilipPr ideaux -Brune
,Gertrude
Reed,Ethel
R ob in son , CharlesRoche
,A
R o th ers tein,William
Rus sell , W . W .
S i ckert,Walter
S teer , P . W i l sonSteven son , R . M .
S trang,W i ll i am
Su l li van , E . J .Thorn ton , AlfredVallance , AymerWalton , E. A .
W i lson , Patten
P LAY SAN H ISTORICAL PASTORAL ; A ROMANTICFARCE ; BRUCE
,A CHRONICLE PLAY ;
SMITH,A TRAGIC FARCE ; SCARAMOUCHIN NAXOS , A PANTOMIMEBY JOHN DAV IDSON
Wi th F rontisp iece and Cover Des ign by AUBREY BEARDSLEYSmall 4to. Price 7 3 . 6d. niet
Tbc E dition is limited tojive bundred copies .
![COFRENTES UNDERVESSEL PROJECT IN RFO 16 … UNDERVESSEL PROJECT IN RFO 16 (2007) [ Replacement of all the CRDH undervessel piping] COFRENTES UNDERVESSEL PROJECT IN RFO 16 (2007) [](https://img.pdfslide.net/doc/110x75/5abcda087f8b9a8f058e13cf/cofrentes-undervessel-project-in-rfo-16-undervessel-project-in-rfo-16-2007.jpg)
