Who was Aubrey Beardsley?
Graphic Artist noted for his sensual style and
a major figure in the Aestheticism Movement.
Date and Place of Birth:
21st August 1872, Brighton, Sussex, England
Family Background:
Vincent, his father, came from a long line of
Jewellers in Clerkenwell. Sued for breach of promise by another
woman on his wedding day he lost all his property but continued
to cling to the rank of gentleman. He had to find employment as
a brewery clerk. His mother Ellen came from the well-to-do family
of an ex-indian Army Officer Surgeon and felt that she had married
breneath her. There was often friction between his parents.
Education:
Westminster School of Art for a few months after
a recommendation by Sir Edward Burne Jones.
Chronology/Biography of Aubrey
Beardsley:
1893: Commissioned
to illustrate "Morte D'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory.
1894: Appointed
Art Editor and illustrator of "The Yellow Book". His illustrations
for Oscar Wilde's "Salome" achieved national notoriety.
1895: Even though
he was not a homosexual himself he was dismissed from the Yellow
Book after Wilde's downfall.
1896: Illustrated
Aristophane's "Lysistrata". Became the principal illustrator
of "The Savoy" magazine.
1896: Illustrated
Alexander Pope's "Rape of the Lock". Became an invalid.
1896: Became a Catholic
and went to live in France.
Marriage:
Never married.
Places of Interest:
BOURNEMOUTH:
Plaque on the former site of the "Muriel
House" in Exeter Road.
LONDON:
Tate Britain.
Date and Place of Death:
16th March 1898, Menton, France.
Age at Death:
25.
Site of Grave:
Public Cemetery, Menton, France.
