The Toilet, from The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope
1896
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1896
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A woman sits at a vanity, surrounded by bottles, brushes, and a hand mirror. Behind her, a garden scene appears on a folding screen instead of a real window. Beardsley drew this for a poem mocking high-society vanity. The garden isn’t real—it’s just another layer of artifice, like the jewels and powders on the table. The lines are sharp and flat, with no shading to soften them. If you like this style, look up *Art Nouveau*.
