青幻舎 SEIGENSHA Art Publishing

Britain toward the close of the nineteenth century was marked by the defiance of traditional mores and aesthetics, by the embrace of the exotic, by decadence, deviation, and scandal. No figure embodies the air of that age more than Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898): in his hands, the most delicate of lines turned subversive and provocative, enticing viewers to take joy in their grotesque allure.

This compact gift book traces Beardsley’s brief quarter century of life through a select presentation of works, including his illustrations for Salome and The Rape of the Lock, considered to be among his greatest achievements; his work for The Yellow Book, for which he served as art editor; and his posters. The volume is the second in Seigensha’s translated Japanese editions of the V&A Artists in Focus series, after William Morris’s Flowers.

This is the Japanese edition of a book originally published in the United Kingdom in 2020 by Thames & Hudson Limited.