Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 06 - Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Artists by Elbert Hubbard
page 51 of 267 (19%)
page 51 of 267 (19%)
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drawing by Beardsley. Beardsley's heroines are the kind of women who
can kill a man with a million pin-pricks, so diabolically, subtly and slyly administered that no one but the victim would be aware of the martyrdom--and he could not explain it. As you enter the main gallery of statuary at the Luxembourg, you will see, on a slightly raised platform, at the opposite end of the room, the nude figure of a man. The mold is heroic, and the strong pose at once attracts your attention. As you approach closer you will see, standing behind the man, the figure of a woman. Her form is elevated so she is leaning over him and her face is turned so her lips are about to be pressed upon his. You approach still closer, and a feeling of horror flashes through you--you see that the beautiful arms of the woman end in hairy claws. The claws embrace the man in deadly grasp, and are digging deep into his vitals. On his face is a look of fearful pain, and every splendid muscle is tense with awful agony. Now, if you do as I did, you will suddenly turn and go out into the fresh air--the fearful realism of the marble will for the moment unnerve you. This is the piece of statuary that gave Philip Burne-Jones the cue for his painting, "The Vampire," which picture suggested the poem, by the same name, to Rudyard Kipling. Aubrey Beardsley gloated on the Vampire--she was the sole goddess of his idolatry. No wonder it was that the story of Salome attracted him! Salome was |
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