Aubrey Beardsley

1872–1898

Biography

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 1872 – 16 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His drawings in black ink, influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James McNeill Whistler. Beardsley's contribution to the development of the Art Nouveau and poster styles was significant despite the brevity of his career before his early death from tuberculosis.

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Artworks

Left Right

Aubrey Beardsley The Fat Woman

1894

On display at Tate Britain part of Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley Caprice. Verso: Masked Woman with a White Mouse

c.1894

On display at Tate Britain part of Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley Design for the Frontispiece to John Davidson’s Plays

1894

On display at Tate Britain part of Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley La Dame aux Camélias

1894

On display at Tate Britain part of Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley Cover Design for ‘The Yellow Book’ Vol.I

1894

On display at Tate Britain part of Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley Messalina and her Companion

1895

On display at Tate Britain part of Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley Frontispiece to Chopin’s Third Ballade

1895

On display at Tate Britain part of Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley Professor Fred Brown

1892

See all 160

Artist as subject

Walter Richard Sickert Aubrey Beardsley

1894

On display at Tate Britain part of Aubrey Beardsley
Anita Bartle, Grant Richards (London, UK) This is my Birthday

1902

View by appointment
Prunella Clough Diary

18 November 1944–27 February 1947

View by appointment
Ithell Colquhoun Part of a typescript for an essay entitled: ‘Recollection of Kurt Schwitters’ by Ithell Colquhoun

1969

Film and audio

The Art of Being a Dandy

Discover the 'dos and don’ts' of dandyism, according to artist Aubrey Beardsley

Features

List

The Story of Aubrey Beardsley in Five Artworks

Explore the life and art of an influential and controversial young illustrator
Art Term

Fin de Siècle

Fin de Siècle is a French phrase meaning 'end of century' and is applied specifically as a historical term to …
Art Term

Art nouveau

Art nouveau is an international style in architecture and design that emerged in the 1890s and is characterised by sinuous …
Art Term

Decadence

Decadence generally refers to an extreme manifestation of symbolism which appeared towards the end of the nineteenth century and emphasised …