Beardsley Movement in the Russian Silver Age Culture

Abstract

The 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 intellectual society at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries. Being 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 make a real revolution in the field of illustration and book graphics, separating them into independent elements of creativity and raising the art of graphics to a completely new, unprecedently high level. No less revolutionary was the behavior of the artist — 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 a lot of complex concepts. Therefore, no wonder that the sphere of influence of this master in Russia was extremely wide — not limited only to the field of graphics, it extended from new artistic methods up to the lifestyle and demeanor. The significance of Beardsleism in the Russian artistic life of the turn of the centuries is also indicated by its scope — the most prominent figures of the Silver Age, such as S. Diaghilev, L. Bakst, N. Feofilaktov, and rather obscure A. Silin, A. Arapov and M. Durnov — both those and others experienced a significant influence of Aubrey Beardsley on their works and life.