I usually feature little-known or under-recognised artists, but this month I’m exploring Aubrey Beardsley, the legendary English illustrator and author(1872 – 1898).
Beardsley’s work was overwhelmingly illustration - unlike the two previous illustrators I featured in past posts, he did not create much non-illustration art.
Beardsley contracted tuberculosis at the age of 7 and died at 25. His productive years numbered only 6.
Beardley’s black ink drawings were influenced by Japanese woodcuts.
He wrote:
I struck for myself an entirely new method of drawing and composition, something suggestive of Japan… The subjects were quite mad and a little indecent.
Beardsley mocked Victorian values that promoted respectability, arguing that art should make people better human beings. This was challenged by the rise of Aestheticism (1860-1890), which preached “art for art’s sake.”
Decadence grew out of Aestheticism in the 1880s-90s, as Beardsley gravitated to the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic:
Beardsley said,
Of course, I have one aim, the grotesque. If I am not grotesque I am nothing.
— from an interview with The Idler, 1896.
And:
I see everything in a grotesque way. Things shape themselves before my eyes just as I draw them... Every passer-by is my unconscious sitter; and as strange as it may seem, I really draw folk as I see them. Surely it is not my fault that they fall into certain lines and angles.
— from an interview in the newspaper To-Day, 1894.
His illustrations for Lysistrata are the most “in your face” erotic and bizarre:
Lysistrata, literally means “army disbander”. It’s an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes (411 BC). The play is a comic account of a woman's “sex strike” - a plan to end the Peloponnesian War by denying sex to the men on both sides of the conflict. If you dare, find more Lysistrata illustrations here.
Beardsley converted to Catholicism in March 1897. A year later, just before his death, he wrote to his publisher and also to his close friend:
…I implore you to destroy all copies of Lysistrata and bad drawings … By all that is holy, all obscene drawings. — Aubrey Beardsley, In my death agony.
Both men ignored Beardsley’s wishes
To view a ton more of Aubrey Beardsley’s art click here.
In keeping with the theme of dying young, I’m unearthing a detail of my painting, No More Pollution; No More Somalia. It depicts my friend Peter Ryan, who died of AIDS at the age of 31.
View the “Ways of Dying” series on my website.
LIBRARIES
I was thrilled that the Getty Research Institute Library in Los Angeles accepted a donation of Art & Love. I spent some happy hours there researching an obscure historical detail for the book.
Art & Love: My Life Illuminated in Egg Tempera is now on Libby for the San Francisco Public Library. The audiobook is on Hoopla.
I would be so grateful if you could request your local library to acquire Art & Love. As an example, here’s the link to the request a book” form for the Berkeley Public Library.
You can buy Art & Love on my website, order it at any independent bookstore, Bookshop.org or Amazon. You can read some of the reviews on Amazon, and if you’re inspired to write one, I would really appreciate it.
PODCASTS AND REELS
I was a guest on the Art Unknown Podcast. (If you listen, fast forward through the obnoxious commercial at the start.) I enjoy chatting with podcast hosts, so I’m applying for several more podcasts. Let me know if you know of any that might be appropriate.
I’ve been trying to post “reels” on Instagram for each chapter of the book. Here is the Introduction and Chapter One. Best to turn on the sound 🔊 icon on the bottom right. Feedback welcome!
The results were all over the map, so I’ll just continue Art Blotter Plus in its current format, but please continue to share feedback.
Amos’ talent showed up at a very early age and was well-developed in high school. Here’s an acrylic painting Amos created in high school:
I call it “Boy With Giraffe,” but it is obviously a self-portrait.
Amos has been working on commissions for private homes. If you are interested in a mural or painting, or see a wall that needs a mural, you can reach Amos at his website.
“Too Young“ was written by Sidney Lippman with lyrics by Sylvia Dee. A recording of the song was released by Nat King Cole in 1951.
Lora
Do you have a friend who might enjoy Art Blotter Plus?
I love reading your comments, and if you click “leave a comment” others can read and interact with all the comments. But clicking “reply” is great too!
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.