Isolde (1895): Art, History and Details

Isolde (1895) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Aubrey Beardsley (British, 1872–1898).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This print depicts Isolde, the female protagonist of a medieval romance centered on an adulterous love triangle. Aubrey Beardsley frequently drew from literature in his artwork, whether as illustrations or independent works of art. He became immensely popular during the 1890s, when this work was made, for his characteristically stark, sinuous, and linear style. Although Beardsley's images often accompanied text in books, this print was published by the popular British art journal The Studio as a bonus for its readers.

Object facts

• Title: Isolde
• Date: 1895
• Creator attribution: Aubrey Beardsley (British, 1872–1898)
• Culture: England
• Type: Print
• Technique: color lithograph
• Dimensions: Image: 22.8 x 14.2 cm (9 x 5 9/16 in.); Sheet: 28.5 x 20.4 cm (11 1/4 x 8 1/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Lithograph
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2010.651

A detail from the museum

Aubrey Beardsley died unexpectedly at the age of just 25, at the height of his popularity, of tuberculosis.

Collection credit

Gift of John Bonebrake

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.