Bathyllus taking the pose 1896

Editor: Here we have Aubrey Beardsley’s "Bathyllus Taking the Pose," made in 1896, using pen and ink. The stark black and white lines create a really striking image. There’s something unsettling about it, yet also very poised. How do you interpret this work, especially in the context of its time? Curator: Well, what strikes me immediately is how Beardsley deploys classicism only to then subvert it. Think about Bathyllus – a figure from antiquity, referenced here in the title. But Beardsley presents him in a way that queers classical ideals of masculine beauty. It becomes a political act, wouldn't you say? Editor: Political how? Was he challenging the status quo? Curator: Precisely! Consider the social and legal landscape of Victorian England. Homosexuality was criminalized. Artists like Beardsley were subtly pushing against those constraints by celebrating male sensuality, albeit coded. What do you think the exaggerated curves and languid pose suggest in this context? Editor: So it's like he’s using this historical reference to talk about something really contemporary and controversial. I also see how Beardsley’s work can be situated within the aesthetic movement which questions morality in art. Curator: Exactly. It is more about challenging societal norms. How might we then read the simplicity of the lines – the near-absence of shading – in relation to these acts of subversion? Editor: I guess the simplicity could be seen as a way of stripping away all the conventional or moralistic trappings and exposing the pure form. Curator: Right. So Beardsley uses a classical reference and simple line work, not to uphold tradition, but to question the Victorian period's stifling constraints around identity and desire. It also emphasizes the value in questioning conventional perceptions of the body and the norms. It all really is groundbreaking when put into the historical and sociopolitical frame. Editor: I never thought about it that way before, it definitely has changed my initial perspective of this artwork.