Under the hill Pl.09
1904
A striking black-and-white figure raises a slender hand in an elegant farewell gesture, draped in flowing dark fabric that cascades like liquid shadow. The Latin phrase 'Ave Atque Vale' — meaning 'Hail and Farewell' — floats beside them, borrowed from the Roman poet Catullus's mournful tribute to his dead brother. This is classic Aubrey Beardsley: bold, decadent, and hauntingly beautiful. The young artist, who died of tuberculosis at just 25, packed an extraordinary amount of dark wit and eroticism into his brief career, becoming the defining illustrator of the 1890s Art Nouveau movement.
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