The bathers 1896

Editor: Here we have Aubrey Beardsley’s 1896 pen drawing, "The Bathers." The figures seem so overdressed for a beach, and that rock-strewn ground gives me such a sense of constraint, almost a visual cacophony. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Oh, Beardsley! He was such a cheeky devil, wasn't he? For me, it's the sheer audaciousness of his line work that gets me every time. He creates a whole world with the simplest of means. Look at the detail on those costumes, juxtaposed with the rather barren landscape. It is almost as if these characters exist entirely in a theatre of their own making, indifferent to any surrounding environment. And notice how the costumes seem to constrict rather than liberate, in what other ways can you see Beardsley doing this? Editor: That contrast is definitely interesting. And now that you mention it, their facial expressions do seem sort of detached and unemotional. Curator: Exactly! There's a delightful morbidity and melancholy at play in Beardsley. He's almost daring you to find him scandalous, yet luring you in at the same time. Do you think he achieves a sense of tension with the erotic and absurd? Editor: Yes, I can definitely see that now! The exaggerated costumes and stony setting heighten this sense of the theatrical, of artificiality. Curator: Precisely. For me this adds to an uncanny sense of drama. Beardsley always was so delightfully strange! What a testament to his artistic style and talent. Editor: I agree. Looking closer has revealed a whole new perspective on what seemed like a simple drawing. Thanks so much!