Aubrey Beardsley

 

 
    Now this fellow knew how to wind the victorians up.
    Wierd sexual images in stark black and white were Beardsley's forte. He was heavily influenced by japanese woodcuts and Toulouse-Lautrec's poster art. In his turn he influenced the art nouveau movement.
    I'm fascinated by the white/black contrast. Maybe it's a consequence of being slightly colourblind. It's what draws be to printmaking.
    Aubrey Beardsley died in 1898, only 26 yers old, with most of his work in the last six years. In his last year he got religion and ordered his publisher to destroy his more salacious works. So he may well have churned out decades of dull work had he lived longer. Thankfully the publisher ignored his demands.