Aubrey Beardsley, the peacock skirt < Artesplorando

c‘is an image that contains all the charm, excess and mystery of the end of the nineteenth century. An androgynous figure, a dress that billows like feathers, a motionless and silent peacock… We are talking about The peacock skirtone of the most famous and ambiguous illustrations of Aubrey Beardsleyfounded in 1892 to guide Scandalous Salome by Oscar Wilde. After reading Wilde’s play, written in French, Beardsley was struck by the play’s decadent aesthetic. He immediately made a drawing. Salome holds the head of John the Baptist. Wilde, struck by such a bold and sophisticated graphic vision, wanted him as an illustrator for the English edition of the book.

An explosive collaboration

Many of the drawings were considered pornographic by the publisher and were censored or edited. The peacock skirt emerged from this context. Salome is depicted in a rigid, almost hieratic pose, but the attention is drawn to the dress. Wide flowing lines, little detail in the body, but a decorative waterfall at the bottom of the dress. Peacock feathers, rendered in an abstract and sinuous manner, become the protagonists. Beardsley uses the symbolism of the royal bird to evoke sensuality, power, luxury and death. Beardsley was fascinated by the decorative potential of women’s clothing. Under his pen, every curve becomes an arabesque, every feather a decorative motif. It’s the perfect expression ofArt Nouveau: natural forms reinterpreted in a symbolic and stylized key.

For example, in Salome’s hairstyle, some feathers appear alive, like ornamental snakes. A long thread designs an unreal embroidery, which emphasizes the curves of the dress and the desire. Who is the figure depicted? The effeminate face, the manly knees… we are in front Narrabotthe young captain who seduces Salome to gain access to John the Baptist. Beardsley plays with sexual and stylistic ambiguity, making each figure part of an erotic and perverse dream. A real peacock also appears in the drawing, behind the main character. A direct reference to the play: Herod offers Salome his collection of peacocks in exchange for a dance and she will ask for a head in return. Beardsley, like Whistler, signs with an icon: not his name, but a candle.

He liked to say that he only drew at night, by the light of two candlesticks. He had visited the Peacock Room of Whistler in 1891: walls hung with blue and gold peacocks, in an oriental glare. This gave rise to the fascination that resulted in the peacock skirt: a recurring motif, a symbol of exotic sensuality, a play of visual artifice. After publication, Salome caused a scandal. Beardsley’s illustrations were accused of obscenity, but made him a celebrity. A fame that he experienced with discomfort: he was vulnerable, sick, restless. But his style immediately became iconic and influenced the entire visual aesthetic of the Belle Époque.

Art never has to explain itself. It should disturb, enchant, seduce.

Aubrey Beardsley

Recommended readings

Under the mountain https://amzn.to/2tDOYpa

C.C

This article uses various bibliographic contributions that you can consult here