The Toilette of Salomé (second version), for Salomé by Oscar Wilde
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley British
Publisher John Lane, The Bodley Head British
Related author Oscar Wilde Irish
Not on view
In 1907 John Lane issued a portfolio of designs that Aubrey Beardsley created in 1894 for the first British edition of "Salomé." Oscar Wilde's play had been written in French in 1891 then translated into English by Lord Alfred Douglas. Several of the images Beardsley submitted were judged to be too erotic to publish, and either altered or omitted. All were, however, included in the 1907 set. This second design for "The Toilette of Salomé" was included in the 1894 book after a first version (63.693.2(16)) was rejected. Salome now appears fully clothed in modern dress being tended to by a masked Pierrot-like figure and seated by a Japoniste style dressing table that recalls designs by William Godwin.
