Don Juan, Sganarelle, and the Beggar (from Molière's "Don Juan") 1896

Curator: Let's discuss Aubrey Beardsley’s illustration, "Don Juan, Sganarelle, and the Beggar" from Molière's "Don Juan," currently housed in the Harvard Art Museums. The stark black and white contrasts are immediately striking, but what grabs you first? Editor: A bit morbid, isn't it? It feels like a fashionable dance with death, the beggar a stark reminder of our inevitable end. Curator: Beardsley's use of line becomes crucial here. He employs dense hatching to create the heavy black cloak, contrasting with the delicate, dotted outlines of the figure in white. How does this affect the viewer's interpretation? Editor: It amplifies the sense of unease, of something not quite formed or real. The heavy cloak feels like a weight, a burden—perhaps of morality itself given Don Juan's dubious character. Curator: Indeed. And that tension between meticulous detail and sparse emptiness reflects the social anxieties of the late 19th century and Beardsley’s commentary on class. Editor: Makes you wonder about the artist's intention. I mean, was he mocking societal structures, or just revelling in the aesthetic of decay? Curator: Perhaps both. Beardsley masterfully uses the printing process itself to emphasize these disparities. He lays bare the means of production. Editor: Ultimately, it's a disquieting image that continues to haunt and provoke. Curator: I agree. It is as if Beardsley is asking us to examine our own roles in the human comedy and tragedy.