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The Later Work of Aubrey Beardsley

The current popularity of the strange drawings of Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) marks the second apex of one of the most unusual careers in art history. Within two years after the publication of his first book of illustrations, Beardsley was the best-known artist in England. Just as swiftly, with the national outcry against Oscar Wilde, his career was over. At 26 he was dead.

He left behind a remarkable quantity of first-rate work. The book illustrations, the portraits, the illustrations and covers for "The Studio" and "The Yellow Book" magazines, the book plates and title pages — these are unforgettable creations of line and "black blots", masterpieces in a graphic technique that was genuinely original and that profoundly influenced the decorative arts throughout Europe for generations to follow.

This reprint of The Later Work of Aubrey Beardsley includes many of the title-pages, covers and ornaments for "The Yellow Book" as well as such famous pieces as "The Wagnerites", "La Dame aux Camelias", the Venus and Tannhauser drawings, the "Rape of Lock" series, and details from the eight "Lysistrata" drawings. It is basically a reproduction of the revised edition, but with many of the plates reprinted from a finer, earlier edition and with two color plates restored. All told, there are 174 different plates.

Printed one to a page and reproduced with brilliant clarity on heavy stock that minimizes show-through, this is a book to be welcomed not only by the growing number of Beardsley enthusiasts, but by everyone who cares about the modern history of the graphic arts.

  • Format
  • paperback
  • Pages
  • 188
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9780486218175
  • Genres
  • art
  • Release date
  • 1988