The Lacedaemonian Ambassadors
Drawing
1896 (drawn)
1896 (drawn)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Aubrey Beardsley's distinctive black and white drawings for Oscar Wilde's Salomé, published in 1894, brought him an extraordinary notoriety whilst still in his early twenties. His work for the periodical The Yellow Book confirmed his position as the most innovative illustrator of the day, but as a result of the hostile moralistic outcry that followed the arrest and trial of Oscar Wilde in early 1895, John Lane and other publishers panicked and dropped Beardsley. Thereafter, almost the only publisher who would use his drawings was Leonard Smithers. Smithers was a brilliant but shady character who operated on the fringes of the rare book trade, issuing small, clandestine editions of risqué books with the boast: 'I will publish the things the others are afraid to touch'. Smithers encouraged Beardsley's already growing interest in French, Latin and Greek texts of this kind and commissioned drawings to illustrate the Satires of the late Roman poet Juvenal and, most famously, Aristophanes's bawdy satirical play Lysistrata.
Beardsley knew of the ancient Greek theatrical tradition whereby the actors in comedies wore enormous stage-prop phalluses. He made appropriate and amusing use of the motif in several of his illustrations to Aristphanes' broad sexual comedy. Here he also makes a play upon the idea that in time of war the Lacedaemonian men dressed their hair and wore make-up without damaging their potency.
Beardsley knew of the ancient Greek theatrical tradition whereby the actors in comedies wore enormous stage-prop phalluses. He made appropriate and amusing use of the motif in several of his illustrations to Aristphanes' broad sexual comedy. Here he also makes a play upon the idea that in time of war the Lacedaemonian men dressed their hair and wore make-up without damaging their potency.
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Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | The Lacedaemonian Ambassadors (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Pen and ink over pencil on paper |
Brief description | Drawing by Aubrey Beardsley, 'The Lacedaemonian Ambassadors', Illustration to Lysistrata by Aristophanes, published by Leonard Smithers, London 1896 (facing page 50). Pen and ink. |
Physical description | A pen and ink drawing over traces of pencil depicting three naked men, all with oversized erect penises. The first diminutive figure wears an elaborate feathered turban, the other two fanciful stockings and shoes. |
Dimensions |
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Production type | Unique |
Marks and inscriptions | 'AUBREY BEARDSLEY' (signature) |
Credit line | Purchased with Art Fund support |
Object history | This drawing is for the illustration facing p 50 in The Lysistrata of Aristophanes, London, Leonard Smithers, 1896. |
Production | Beardsley completed the eight drawings for Lysistrata during a stay at the Spread Eagle Hotel, Epsom, where he had been sent in the hope that country air would help arrest the development of tuberculosis. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Aubrey Beardsley's distinctive black and white drawings for Oscar Wilde's Salomé, published in 1894, brought him an extraordinary notoriety whilst still in his early twenties. His work for the periodical The Yellow Book confirmed his position as the most innovative illustrator of the day, but as a result of the hostile moralistic outcry that followed the arrest and trial of Oscar Wilde in early 1895, John Lane and other publishers panicked and dropped Beardsley. Thereafter, almost the only publisher who would use his drawings was Leonard Smithers. Smithers was a brilliant but shady character who operated on the fringes of the rare book trade, issuing small, clandestine editions of risqué books with the boast: 'I will publish the things the others are afraid to touch'. Smithers encouraged Beardsley's already growing interest in French, Latin and Greek texts of this kind and commissioned drawings to illustrate the Satires of the late Roman poet Juvenal and, most famously, Aristophanes's bawdy satirical play Lysistrata. Beardsley knew of the ancient Greek theatrical tradition whereby the actors in comedies wore enormous stage-prop phalluses. He made appropriate and amusing use of the motif in several of his illustrations to Aristphanes' broad sexual comedy. Here he also makes a play upon the idea that in time of war the Lacedaemonian men dressed their hair and wore make-up without damaging their potency. |
Associated object | E.349-1972 (Reproduction) |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | E.301-1972 |
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Record created | March 8, 2007 |
Record URL |
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