Arthur and the Strange Mantle 1894

Curator: Aubrey Beardsley's 1894 ink drawing, "Arthur and the Strange Mantle," immediately strikes me with its stark contrasts. The blacks are so absolute, creating a stage-like effect. Editor: It does possess a theatrical drama, doesn't it? Beardsley often worked in the context of theater and print. This illustration style shows off an aesthetic decadence reflective of late 19th century social anxieties around morality, especially gender and class. We see the echoes of the Arthurian legends, filtered through the lens of fin-de-siècle aestheticism, preoccupied with the grotesque and artificial. Curator: I’m curious about the process itself. Look at the sharp precision of those lines; each one seems deliberate in forming that stylized, almost gothic landscape. One wonders about the kind of pen he used to create that meticulous line-art. Did he labor intensely on one plate at a time, or could he perhaps manage a faster paste, through use of innovative machinery, which afforded quicker mass printing of such imagery. Editor: Your focus on materials and manufacture is essential here. Beardsley pushed the boundaries of what was possible with commercially reproducible art. It reflects, for example, similar practices around textiles at this time. But it's equally fascinating to examine the subject matter. This image captures a tension between Arthur and what appears to be a courtier or maybe Guinevere herself. Note how passive she is while her robes entirely dominate her agency within the composition. Curator: That passivity may be reflective of real dynamics present in this cultural context. Women are both the muse but rendered entirely powerless to objectification through male dominated artistic vision. She has so little agency within this setting – literally offering Arthur the mantle! What an obvious transfer of power. But Beardsley’s choice to set the narrative in this landscape with its almost surreal quality allows for deeper, complex interpretations of social roles through visual symbols. Editor: Exactly. Consider the castle looming in the background and that almost symmetrical dark and light binary as it relates to sexual politics. Beardsley challenged traditional values, infusing art with erotic and sometimes shocking imagery that reflected the rapidly changing views on identity, especially concerning sexuality and the emergence of new artistic freedom within the context of rapidly accelerating social change. Curator: Thinking about the composition, the botanical elements surrounding the frame, so decorative and dense, it emphasizes art's place both within industrial manufacturing and pure aesthetic design in an excitingly accessible medium. Editor: By examining both the production process and these subversive undertones, we grasp the depth of Beardsley's engagement with the shifting dynamics of his era, allowing for his works to spark relevant discussions within our current cultural landscape, too.