‘Cinesias entreating Myrrhina to coition’, by Aubrey Beardsley

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Cinesias entreating Myrrhina to coition

Aubrey Beardsley

Photo-mechanical reproduction of a pen and ink drawing

10 x 7 inches

The Lysistrata of Aristophanes.

A dynamic design in which Cinesias demands his conjugal rights. Beardsley again sets out to shock, with the resistant wife being threatened by a caricature penis. [Commentary continues below.]

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Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.

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This image makes the usual unsettling juxtapositions, with the elegance of the costumes and the delicate drawing of the flowers and ornaments placed in sharp opposition with what looks like a sexual assault, with the hand and arm standing in brutal opposition to the rest of the composition. The phallus looks like a weapon and the husband like a satyr, while the wife pulls away from him in horror.

Bibliography

The Lysistrata of Aristophanes. London [Leonard Smithers], 1896.

Created 1 March 2021