An ink drawing of a group of costumed figures on what appears to be a stage.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The ink drawing shows a group of figures walking across a stage, as if performing in a play. At the very center and closest to the viewer is a figure with a half mask wearing a harlequin patterned outfit. Behind them are two trios of figures against a black curtain though it is uncertain whether they are performers or images as the ground plane is not clearly defined. One of the background figures has a cloven hoof. Two large candlesticks float above their heads.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1986.675
People
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley, British (Brighton, England 1872 - 1898 Menton, France)
Title
The Scarlet Pastorale
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1894
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/295099

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Black ink and graphite on off-white wove wove paper
Dimensions
27.1 x 18.8 cm (10 11/16 x 7 3/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • stamp: verso, oval purple ink stamp: THE SKETCH / Art Department / 198, STRAND, LONDON, W.O.
  • inscription: verso, brown or black ink: 1357

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Robert von Erdberg, sold; to Scofield Thayer, bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1986

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
Zatlin 943

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Scofield Thayer
Accession Year
1986
Object Number
1986.675
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Linda Gertner Zatlin, Aubrey Beardsley and Victorian Sexual Politics, The Clarendon Press (Oxford, England, 1990), p. 127, fig. 80
  • Emily D. Bilski and Emily Braun, The Power of Conversation: Jewish Women and their Salons, exh. cat., The Jewish Museum/Yale University Press (New York / New Haven and London, 2005)
  • James Dempsey, The Tortured Life of Scofield Thayer, University Press of Florida (Gainesville, FL, 2014), pp. 58, 186
  • Penley Knipe and Miriam Stewart, "Behind the 'Blot'" Technical Notes on the Drawings of Aubrey Beardsley, Master Drawings (Winter 2015), LIII, no. 4, pp. 523-530, p. 526, repr. p. 526 as fig. 6, repr. p. 527 as figs. 7 and 8 (details)
  • Linda Gertner Zatlin, Aubrey Beardsley: A Catalogue Raisonné, Yale University Press (U.S.) (New Haven and London, 2016), vol. 2, no. 943, pp. 13, 157-158, repr. p. 158, detail repr. p. 130
  • Stephen Calloway and Caroline Corbeau-Parsons, ed., Aubrey Beardsley, exh. cat., Tate Publishing (London, 2020), checklist no. 140, repr. p. 126

Exhibition History

  • The Power of Conversation: Jewish Women and Their Salons, Jewish Museum, New York, 03/04/2005 - 07/10/2005
  • Aubrey Beardsley, Tate Britain, London, 03/04/2020 - 09/20/2020; Musée d'Orsay, 10/12/2020 - 01/10/2021

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu