History Focus for August 21

A short focus on a person or event associated with this day in History.

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley - (August 21, 1872)

Aubrey Beardsley was born in Brighton, East Sussex, in 1872. He achieved fame early through his fantastic posters and illustrations for Morte d'Arthur , Salom, , The Rape of the Lock , and other works. He was also famous for his work on the Yellow Book magazine and his own Book of Fifty Drawings. The Yellow Book has been referred to as the quintessential periodical of the 1890's in England. Beardsley served as art editor of this avant-garde literary journal from its inception in April 1894, until he was dismissed a year later. His productive career was, however, quite short, spanning only six years. As a lifelong victim of tuberculosis, he died on March 16, 1898, in Menton, France, at the age of twenty-five.

Aubrey Beardsley was an English artist active during the European fin-de-siecle artistic movement. His subject matter was imaginative, hedonistic and often macabre. His drawings were not mere illustrations, but formed an integral part of the English Aesthetic Movement and are best understood in this context. His artistry has gone in and out of fashion many times over the last century. But there is no doubt he has had a lasting impression on many artists who followed him. His distinctive style, inspired in part by his interest in Japanese prints, remains a powerful influence on graphic design in Europe and the United States even today.

Sources: Compton’s Encyclopedia | Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 96

Francis de Sales - (August 21, 1567)

St. Francis de Sales was born on August 21, into a family of nobility of what was then the Kingdom of Savoy located between France, Italy and Switzerland. He received his schooling under the Jesuits where he earned a Doctorate in both Civil and Church Law. To the disappointment of his parents, he gave up a most promising civil career in favor of priesthood.

He was ordained a bishop of Geneva in 1602, but resided in Annecy (now France) since Geneva was under the control of the Calvinists and closed to him. His fame as a spiritual director and writer grew. He was persuaded by others to collect, organize and expand on his many letters to people on spiritual subjects and to publish them, which he did, in 1609 under the title of the Introduction to a Devout Life. This has become his most famous work and is a spiritual classic still popular today. His special project was the writing of A Treatise on the Love of God, over which he prayed and labored many years. It, too, is still published today. In addition to these works, his published letters, sermons and conferences comprise about 30 volumes. The enduring value and popularity of his writing led the Church later to bestown on him the title Patron of Catholic Writers.

Francis took into his household a young man who was hearing impaired and devised a sign language for communicating with him. This charitable work led the Church to confer on him another title, that of Patron of the Hearing Impaired.

He had planned to write a second Treatise about the love of God, but he died on December 28, 1622 at age 55. The Church formally declared him to be a Saint in 1665. His feast day is observed by the Church on January 24.

Sources: Compton’s Encyclopedia | Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 96

© Phillip Bower