The Litany of Mary Magdalen

Art Historical Context

Aubrey Beardsley created this delicate graphite drawing, *The Litany of Mary Magdalen*, in 1891 when he was just nineteen years old. Already demonstrating remarkable technical skill, the young artist chose the medium of graphite on cream wove paper to explore fine gradations of tone and intricate line work. This early piece hints at the distinctive linear style that would soon make Beardsley a central figure in the Aesthetic movement and a leading illustrator of the 1890s. The subject, drawn from the life of Mary Magdalene, reflects the period’s renewed interest in biblical and literary themes treated with a modern sensibility. Rendered on a modest scale of roughly 23 by 17 centimeters, the drawing invites close viewing, allowing the soft graphite strokes to reveal both the figure’s emotional intensity and Beardsley’s emerging mastery of composition. Now preserved in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection, the work offers visitors a rare glimpse of the artist before his celebrated black-and-white illustrations defined an era.