Aubrey Beardsley was the most controversial artist of the Art Nouveau era, renowned for his dark and perverse images and the grotesque erotic themes which he explored in his later work.

Beardsley was a close friend of Oscar Wilde and did illustrations and stage designs for Wilde's play Salome. He also did extensive illustrations for books and magazines, including William Morris' edition of Le Morte Arthur and magazines like The Savoy and The Studio. Beardsley's most famous erotic illustrations were on themes of history and mythology, including his illustrations for Lysistrata and Salome. Beardsley was also a characiturist and even did some political cartoons, mirroring Wilde's irreverant wit in art. Beardsley's work reflected the decadence of his era and his influence was enormous, clearly visible in the work of the French Symbolists, the Poster Art Movement of the 1890s and the work of many later-period Art Nouveau artists like Pape, Mucha and Clarke.

Some of Beardsley's images are a bit too bizarre to just show on our page - but for those who are interested in something a bit stranger, click here for a particularly odd image in a higher resolution: LYSISTRATA

We have just made available a special collection of Beardsley images in very high resolution, including the best erotic pieces from Salome and Lysistrata as well as some of his darker, more satanic illustrations from other sources. Our Beardsley package can be purchased online through our automated ordering site. Just look in the section on Art & Graphics for the Beardsley collection. To order online just click here or use the button below:ONLINE ORDERING

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If you like Beardsley's work you might be interested in some of the other artists of the period who were followed in the same tradition. Take a tour through our site and keep a particular eye out for the work of Alphonse Mucha, Harry Clarke and the Jugenstil Art Nouveau movement.