In Aubrey Beardsley's The Climax, from Oscar Wilde’s play Salome, the artist merges Japanese woodblock influences with Victorian sensibilities to create a distinctly grotesque style. The image depicts Salome with John the Baptist's severed head, exemplifying the femme fatale archetype popular in fin-de-siècle art. Through physical exaggeration and distorted forms, Beardsley both challenges patriarchal conventions and expresses horror at feminine power. His deliberate alienation from Wilde's text, combined with Japanese grotesque elements, creates a powerful visual commentary that unsettled Victorian sensibilities.
Works Cited:
Aubrey Beardsley, The Climax, from Salome, 1894. Line block print on Japanese vellum, 34.3 × 27.3 cm (sheet). London: Victoria and Albert Museum.
Gilbert, Elliot L. “‘Tumult of Images’: Wilde, Beardsley, and ‘Salome.’” Victorian Studies, vol. 26, no. 2, 1983, pp. 133–59.
Timpano, Nathan J. “‘His Wretched Hand’: Aubrey Beardsley, the Grotesque Body, and Viennese Modern Art.” Art History, vol. 40, no. 3, June 2017, pp. 554–81.
Zatlin, Linda Gertner. “Aubrey Beardsley’s ‘Japanese’ Grotesques.” Victorian Literature and Culture, vol. 25, no. 1, 1997, pp. 87–108.