April A to Z Blogging Theme:  Picture this! Traditional Fairy Tale Illustrators

Ali Baba, Victoria and Albert Museum

“I am nothing if not grotesque,” Beardsley said. True for his era, perhaps, but even his erotic drawings of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata would hardly stir up a scandal today.

In a mere six-year career before his untimely death, Art Nouveau artist Beardsley achieved a level of artistry in pen and ink illustration. Inspired by Japanese shunga prints and the posters of Toulous-Lautrec, he is best known for works of legend (Tannhauser, Morte d’ Artur), contemporary literature (Oscar Wilde’s Salome), and magazine art for The Savoy, (which he co-founded), but hidden in his portfolio are some irresistible fairy tale drawings, too.

The Slippers of Cinderella, 1894

Le Morte d’ Arthur, 1893-1894