Aubrey Beardsley

As part of an online project on the Symbolist artists and poets of the late 19th century, Alex Goluszko profiles the English artist and illustrator Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (1872-1898). Beardsley's art work was influenced by Japanese woodblock prints and was characterized by abstract arrangements of sensuous figures. In 1893 Beardsley was appointed as art director of "Yellow Book," a quarterly journal focusing on literature and art. He is remembered for his illustrations of "Morte d'Arthur" by the English writer Thomas Malory (fl. 1470) and for his illustrations of the English translation by the Irish playwright and poet Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) of the drama "Salome." Beardsley died at the age of 26 of tuberculosis. Selected images of Beardsley's illustrations are available online.