Aubrey Beardsley, an English draughtsman and writer born in 1872, was heavily influenced by Japanese drawings. For one of his projects, entitled Bon-Mots, Beardsley created over 200 drawings as he drew inspiration from Japanese Manga [Fig. 4]. It is in this oriental reference that Beardsley may have nurtured his propensity for the grotesque [Fig. 1]. The Peacock Skirt [Fig. 3], while not apparently grotesque, continues to draw from Japonisme. The pattern on the "peacock skirt" of the woman in the foreground features curvilinear scales belonging to both Japanese and art nouveau design aesthetics. The heaviness of the predominately black skirt is balanced by the white details within it and the tapering off of the form into the shape of the woman. Concentrations of black are then found higher in the composition to allow the viewer to continue looking around the composition, rather than focusing on the extravagant skirt. The design of the skirt and the dense and detailed marks of The Cave of Spleen [Fig. 2] seem to reference the dyer’s stencils of Japan. These stencils [Fig. 5-7] show elaborate markings that were frequently incorporated into European decorative arts around 1900.
