Das Rheingold 1896

Aubrey Beardsley created this pen and ink drawing, titled Das Rheingold, in England, likely in the 1890s. Beardsley was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement, which embraced beauty and sensual experience. The drawing is a study in contrasts. The figures and landscapes are set against each other, contrasting dark and light. This kind of composition often depicted the relationship between the sacred and the profane. Beardsley was associated with the decadent movement and his artistic choices often challenged Victorian social norms. In understanding Beardsley’s art, we look at the cultural context of Victorian England, with its social conventions, literature, and the art institutions of the time. The institutions of art in the 1890s were very conservative and this would have provided a framework for the development of his more challenging ideas. His approach to art-making was an assertion of the social role of art as a force for radicalism.