Image of the Month

The Climax features Salome kissing the severed head of John the Baptist, and the original drawing was completed by Aubrey Beardsley in 1893, just before it was first published. It was one of many drawings that he contributed to Salome, a British publication of an Oscar Wilde play. The artwork shown here is contemporary in style, with just a few lines creating each form. The most intensive area of the composition is within a series of circles in the top left corner which contrasts with the simpler parts of the illustration elsewhere. Aside from the two figures, nearer the bottom we also find some flourishes of nature. Beardsley regularly used flowers, trees and also peacock feathers as a means to illuminate his drawings, placing elements of them around the central theme. In this case we find Salome floating in mid air, whilst holding the head in both hands. Less detail is given to her clothing than in other Salome drawings, and it is just simple white plains, with black lines which signify the rolls of material.

Source: https://www.thehistoryofart.org/aubrey-beardsley/climax/