“The Climax,” by Aubrey Beardsley, was one of 17 drawings he created for Oscar Wilde’s play, “Salome.” When the publisher asked Beardsley (1872 – 1898) to change several drawings deemed "indecent," he retaliated by filling the designs with new controversial elements. Beardsley was a prominent figure in the British Aestheticism movement who experienced a brief yet brilliant career distinguished by complex, erotic and linear black-and-white designs. He eventually fell from grace, publicly criticized for the decadence of his art as well as his association with Wilde. Beardsley's work was revived in the 1960s, strongly impacting Art Nouveau and Symbolism.

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