Artwork of Aubrey Beardsley

Aubrey Beardsley was born on August 21st 1872 in Brighton, England. He learns very early that he has tuberculosis, which will make him suffer all his life before killing him. In 1884, for nearly four years, he attended the Bristol Grammar School. He was then hired by an insurance company in London but soon grew weary of his administrative work. In 1891, following his meeting with Edward Burne-Jones, he joined the prestigious Westminster School of Art. Beardsley made his debut as an illustrator in 1893 and enjoyed great success for nearly five years. His compositions often deal with morbid or erotic subjects, which greatly shocked the then Victorian prude society. Aubrey Beardsley dies March 15th, 1898, at only 25 years old, in Menton, France.

Aubrey Beardsley was a symbolist illustrator who greatly influenced the development of the Art Deco style. His famous works are "The Rape of the Lock", "Frontispice pour "Venus et Tannhause"" and "The Wagnerites".

Aubrey Beardsley was particularly associated with Jacques-Emile Blanche, Edward Burne-Jones, and Oscar Wilde.