Border Design for the List of Pictures 1893

Editor: Here we have Aubrey Beardsley’s "Border Design for the List of Pictures." It’s quite small, just under 10 inches, and the black and white is strikingly austere, even unsettling. What's your take on this, its symbolism perhaps? Curator: Ah, Beardsley! He’s whispering secrets to us, isn't he? That angel, masked, kneeling amongst the blooms... It's like a dream, perhaps a nightmare. What stories do you think it wants to tell? Editor: It feels very decadent, maybe a bit naughty? Is that intentional, do you think? Curator: Absolutely, dear one. Beardsley loved playing with those edges, the beautiful and the grotesque, the sacred and the profane. He’s asking us to look deeper, past the surface. Editor: I never thought of it that way. Thanks. Curator: The pleasure is all mine. Isn't it fascinating how something so small can hold so much?