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Virtual Course | Aubrey Beardsley and the Decadents with Petra Clark [in progress]

Date / Time

  • March 8, 2022
    6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
  • April 5, 2022
    6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
  • May 3, 2022
    6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
  • May 31, 2022
    6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Location

Registration

  • Tuition for this course is $200, $180 Delancey Society and Members.
  • Rosenbach members receive a 10% discount on tuition.
  • Not a member? We invite you to join upon registration. Click here for more information about membership.
  • This course is limited to participants who are 17 years of age or older.
  • Before the first meeting, The Rosenbach will send the Zoom link for course meetings. 
  • Two complimentary tickets to visit The Rosenbach are included with your paid registration for this virtual course. You will receive the discount code in your email confirmation and tickets can be booked here. Please check your spam folder for your email confirmation.
  • If you have questions about registration, please call (215) 732-1600 or email [email protected].
  • Registration opens for Delancey Society members on November 15, for members on November 22, and for the general public on November 29.

 

Register

 

Course Description

The year 2022 marks the 150th anniversary of Aubrey Beardsley’s birth and even after all this time, his work continues to shock, delight, and inspire. Beardsley was only 25 when he died of tuberculosis in 1898, but by then he had already established a reputation as one of the most innovative and controversial illustrators of his day. Despite his brief career, Beardsley produced a large body of work—illustrations, designs, and posters, as well as writings—and his name became synonymous with the eccentric, the grotesque, and the subversive art of that time . Today, his art is instantly recognizable for its many curved  lines, striking use of black ink, and erotically-charged subject matter.   

In this course, we will become more familiar with this weird and wonderful creator! You’ll get to know Beardsley; his friends and collaborators, including the artist Edward Burne-Jones and writer Oscar Wilde; London in the 1890s; and his wider artistic and social context through various texts—those he illustrated, those he wrote, and those that others wrote about him. We will also explore some of Beardsley’s own influences such as Japanese woodcuts, Pre-Raphaelite art, and caricature, and those he in turn influenced like turn-of-the-century  illustrators, psychedelic artists, and 20th-century fashion designers,  in order to better appreciate his impact and legacy.   

Aubrey Beardsley and the Decadents with Petra Clark Syllabus

About the Instructor

Petra Clark, PhD, is a literary historian, educator, and occasional library professional. She has taught literature, writing, and illustration/design history at the University of Delaware, Rowan University, and Delaware College of Art and Design. Her area of expertise is late nineteenth-century print culture, particularly related to magazines and the artistic/literary movements Aestheticism and Decadence (of which Beardsley was a part). She is delighted to have the opportunity to share her knowledge and enthusiasm about these topics at the Rosenbach. 

Scholarship Opportunities

Scholarships may be available for this course. For more information, please contact Emilie Parker at [email protected].

About Rosenbach Courses

Revisit beloved classics or experience new ones with Rosenbach courses. Book lovers delve into fiction, history, and poetry with the guidance of a literary expert and the company of other readers. See all upcoming courses.

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