Aubrey Beardsley

This study of Aubrey Beardsley's career is presented in the form of an exploration through his drawings. The book places his strange, but celebrated and substantial oeuvre in the context of the work of his contemporaries, such as Oscar Wilde, Max Beerbohm, Charles Ricketts and W.B. Yeats. It is set against the backdrop of the vibrant, if shady, artistic, literary and social life of fin-de-siecle London, Dieppe and Paris in the decadent period known as the "Naughty Nineties". In addition to Beardsley's original drawings, the illustrations also show examples of innovative book bindings, prints and posters, and reveal a gallery of portraits and photographs of the people, places and things of the period. The book also examines the diverse influences, such as Greek vase paintings, upon which the precocious young artist freely drew in the formation of his own unique style. The final section is devoted to the myth and legend which grew up around the figure of Beardsley after his death.