Beardsley Movement in Russian Silver Age Culture

Abstract

This article dwells on the phenomenon of Russian Beardsleism, which was formed by the influence of the works and personality of the English graphic artist Aubrey Beardsley on the Russian intelligentsia at the turn of the twentieth century. As the brightest representative of English aestheticism and Art Nouveau, Aubrey Beardsley became a champion of the ideas of new art for Russia. In his homeland, Aubrey Beardsley managed to usher in a real revolution in the field of illustration and book graphics, turning them into independent elements of creativity and raising the art of graphics to a completely new, unprecedently high level. No less revolutionary was the artist’s behaviour – Aubrey Beardsley turned his life into art, postulating innovative aesthetic and philosophical aspirations by his very appearance. The worth of his personality was undoubtedly comparable to the worth of his works, and one became inseparable from the other. Thus, the very image of Aubrey Beardsley became a symbol of the Art Nouveau era, containing numerous complex concepts. No wonder, therefore, that the sphere of his influence in Russia was extremely wide – not limited to the field of graphic art, it extended from new artistic methods to lifestyle and demeanor. The significance of Beardsleism in the Russian artistic life of the turn of the twentieth century is also indicated by its scope – the most prominent figures of the Silver Age, such as Sergei Diaghilev, Léon Bakst, Nikolai Feofilaktov, and the rather obscure Aleksandr Silin, Anatoly Arapov and Modest Durnov – both these and others experienced the significant influence of Aubrey Beardsley on their works and life.