I'm risking getting all tl;dr on you folks now, so I'll stop--it's a big internet, and if you feel like pursuing more on the topic, there's plentiful info out there. You're here for the spooky shite, and I'd be remiss were I not to cut RIGHT to the chase.
Artist Alastair was a latecomer to the Symbolist movement--like, a really, REALLY latecomer, starting his career in the 1920s. His style has much in common with that of Aubrey Beardsley's highly decorative, clean-lined panels, but he injects a healthy dose of Harry Clarke's deeply macabre Poe illustrations into the proceedings. Alastair's bio reflects his complete commitment to the Decadent lifestyle--he was of ambiguous European heritage, given to flights of hypochondria and hyperbole, with an appropriate embrace of the melancholy. He was an enigmatic figure with a unique visual style.
Let's take a look at some of his horror-themed pieces, shall we?
Fall of the House of Usher, pencil on paper, 1928. Madeline and Roderick, locked in a cobweb embrace. A romantic evocation of the Poe story's themes if I ever saw one!
Paganini, 1927. The virtuoso violinist has become a bit of a legend in the years since his death, with rumors of murder most foul and deals with the Devil swirling around the musician's name. And, for the Italo-horror fans in the house, let's not forget trash auteur Luigi Cozzi's "Paganini Horror!"
The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1927. Oscar Wilde's innocent-turned-hedonist is captured in a rather quiet moment in this fine-lined illustration.
"The Young Widow II," illustration for Frank Wedekind 's German Expressionist play"Erdgeist," date unknown. I'm just including this because it's one of the most GOTH AS FUCK pieces of art ever committed to paper. STYLE, people--these two have it.
12 comments:
Brilliant. I was unfamiliar with this artist and now my life is enriched!
I can only add that the study of literature parallels that of the study of visual art. "Realist" fiction dominates the field, leaving Gothic works and the Decadent prose of the fin de siécle relegated to the stacks.
The Art Geek Zone dr00ls:
i has the book MANON LESCAUT that the illo on THIS is from:
>http://librairie-loliee.blogspot.com/2009/01/eluvise-alastair.html
It has another colour plate with a white-wigged woman with cobweb/gate/somesuch filled with roses...
IOW Alastair rocks our lameass world with a bone-handled powderpuff :D
Lovely stuff. I too hadn't heard of this gent. Now to see if we have any works on the man here, not likely.
Ooh, I'd love a print of that last one. Or a tattoo. *ponders*
The Nikki P. pretty cool.
As was the opportunitay to click the link to the Beardsley manga. Rah-thur!
Nothin' like a good scourging, milady
I'm the only one who finds the Picture of Dorian Gray print rather ironic? It appears that Wilde's protagonist is encased in a womb and looking rather effeminate. If you hadn't given the title, I never would have guessed this to be Alastair's interpretation of that tale. But, given that one of Wilde's key themes was about the "love that dare not speak its name", maybe the mixing of masculine and feminine was the point?
Thanks also for the print of Paganini. I loved Kinski in that role, and also plan to use the picture to remind my kids about the right way to hold a violin and bow (they are both taking violin lessons, but maybe the exposure to Cozzi's Paganini might be a little premature considering their tender age -- don't want the little ones telling the teacher who tells the principal who gets little old me into a heap of trouble).
Thank you for this post. Intrigued, I ventured forth to hunt down more of his work, and in doing so I made several lovely discoveries. He did the illustrations for Harry Crosby's Red Skeletons (which I have yet to find any images of) but in attempting to do so, I learned a lot about Mr. Crosby and his poetry, and Black Sun Press.
Thanks to you, I will also be viewing Hostel II (which I swore I would never do), because after following your blog for awhile now, I have come to value your opinion.
So thanks again, for always sharing your finds and your thoughts on them!
Very fortuitous that another associate of mine just posted an Alastair illustration (from the Harry Crosby poems Ghoul Next Door mentioned) -- I, for one, *really* appreciate posts like this. It's interesting what people think of as pertinent and off-topic for their weblogs -- I usually figure if it scratches that same itch it belongs together even if it doesn't always directly connect. A salute to harmonious disarray! If it weren't for tl;dr I'd never write anything at all!
The ChannelingHisDayjobInLiberry Zone posits:
YOU. *ALL*. NEED *THIS*:
>http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1402158504&searchurl=an%3DArwas%26sts%3Dt%26tn%3DAlastair%26x%3D0%26y%3D0
if You don't have already--THE only book on Alastair w/LOTS of pix INC. *colour*. The portrait of Baudelaire ON HIS KNEES, HANDS BOUND worth the price of admission (most of these copies are under $20 hence: RIDICULOUSLY low! :o)alone.
Your holiday gift to THYSELVES, n'est-ce-pas? =}
The Enabling*Your*PovertyZone UNhelpfully adds:
uh...not to be TOO sadistic art-lovers but...an Alastair *ORIGINAL*
>http://www.bromer.com/onlinecat10_alastair.html
We can all dream
Black dreams
That our mornings
Become midnights
=}
WOW! Lots of love for Alastair here--I am absolutely delighted to see this :)
As Joey Zone mentions, the "Alastair: Illustrator of Decadence" book is actually quite affordable. I nabbed my copy for under five dollars. While the prints aren't as crisp as they might be in a perfect world, it's still a wonderful addition to any art book collector's library. In fact, the Baudelaire he mentions is shown in the link DB provides! SYNCHRONICITY!
Jack, I knew you'd sympathize with my feelings on realist/fantastic literature and art. There's definitely a "ghetto of the imagination" in mainstream critique, which is really a shame.
Joan, I'd actually specced out a tattoo of that last print myself! Alas, it didn't really "fit" in any of the places I'd thought of putting it, so I've laid the idea to rest. For someone ELSE, though (hinthint) it'd be flipping perfect!
Ghoul Next Door, thank you so much for your kind words! That is really awesome of you to say :) I know I am constantly finding out about new-to-me stuff as a result of other folks' blogs, so it's fantastic that I can pass along some of my own trivia & interests. As to "Red Skeletons," there are several pieces from that book in the "Alastair: Illustrator of Decadence" book mentioned above. WELL worth the investment!
much love for the Symbolists and that last pic has always been a favorite of mine.
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