Headpiece for Malory’s ‘Morte d’Arthur’
ca. 1893
Aubrey Beardsley was barely out of his teens when he created this striking illustration for a deluxe edition of Thomas Malory’s 'Le Morte d'Arthur'. The figure’s hair is the undeniable star—a massive, cascading waterfall of rhythmic, scale-like curls that completely overwhelms the delicate, melancholic profile of the face. Flanked by sinuous, stylized flowers typical of the emerging Art Nouveau movement, the image relies on bold contrasts of black and white to create a dreamlike, almost medieval atmosphere. Beardsley’s career was tragically cut short by tuberculosis at age 25, but his distinctive graphic style revolutionized book illustration in the 1890s.
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