The Climax (illustration)

For other uses, see The Climax (disambiguation).

Aubrey Beardsley, The Climax, 1893.[1] It was first published in 1894. Line block prints were produced by John Lane in 1907 on Japanese vellum[2]

The Climax is an 1893 illustration by Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898), a leading artist of the Decadent (1880-1900) and Aesthetic movements. It depicts a scene from Oscar Wilde's 1891 play Salome, in which the femme fatale Salome has just kissed the severed head of John the Baptist, which she grasps in her hands. Elements of eroticism, symbolism, and Orientalism are present in the piece. This illustration is one of sixteen Wilde commissioned Beardsley to create for the publication of the play. The series is considered to be Beardsley's most celebrated work, created at the age of 21.

  1. ^ Morgan Meis (14 June 2016). "The Faith Behind Aubrey Beardsley's Sexually Charged Art". The New Yorker. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference VAM Climax was invoked but never defined (see the help page).